The compact, lightweight interceptor can exceed 400 kilometres per hour and has an approximate range of 80 kilometres. Its reach can be extended to around 130 kilometres when deployed from a mothership drone developed by Indra to carry multiple interceptors.
Drizzle uses an Indra-developed search and detection system designed to discriminate between threats and lock onto targets with high precision. Its onboard processing system analyses data from electro-optical and infrared sensors in real time to guide the interceptor during the terminal phase of an engagement.
Indra is also working to add radar in subsequent development phases to strengthen the system’s detection capability. The effectors include advanced target tracking and selection functions as well as navigation technology designed for saturated environments.
Drizzle can be integrated into counter-drone systems as a hard-kill effector or used as an onboard self-protection capability for land vehicles and helicopters. Indra said the design is intended to provide an effective, low-cost response to drone threats while supporting different operational configurations.
To extend the system’s reach, Indra has developed an expendable mothership drone capable of carrying several smaller interceptors. The mothership can fly at 30,000 feet for the first 80 kilometres before releasing the effectors, which can then cover a further 50 kilometres to give the system an overall range of about 130 kilometres.
The mothership drones can also operate in swarms and release multiple interceptors in what Indra describes as a “drizzle” intended to saturate an adversary’s defences. After completing the interceptor deployment, the mothership drones can themselves be used as attack vectors.
Indra developed Drizzle around a fungible system concept, with the effectors designed to be expendable and produced with economies of scale in mind. The company said the approach is intended to give allied armed forces a cost-effective means of countering large numbers of low-cost drones.
