Armory Gets ₹100 Cr Defence Ministry Order For Counter Drone Systems

Defence tech startup Armory has bagged a ₹100 Cr ($10.5 Mn) order from the defence ministry for its AI-powered counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS), called SURGE.

Under the deal, Armory will produce and deploy SURGE systems for Indian forces. The platform uses proprietary ‘Samaritan OS’ to detect, track, and neutralise rogue drones by using AI to scan environments millions of times per second and learning new radio frequency (RF) signatures to update its threat library.

With the order in hand, Armory now plans to scale its manufacturing capacity, invest in hiring, shore up its product portfolio and strengthen its R&D center in Manesar.

“This ₹100 Cr order makes Armory arguably the youngest defence tech startup to achieve such a large-scale defence contract in such a short period of time… The system was developed with continuous inputs from the users, ensuring it addressed these specific conditions rather than offering a generic solution designed for a different operating environment,” said founder and CEO Amardeep Singh.

Founded in 2024 by Singh, Armory has built an Al-enabled C-UAS that acts as a security system to detect and destroy rogue drones. 

Including its last fundraise of ₹13 Cr in June 2025, the defence tech startup has raised ₹35 Cr in equity since inception. It counts the likes of growX, Antler, Industrial47, Dexter Ventures, AC Ventures, 8x and Galiakotwala Engineering as its backers.

Going forward, Armory plans to raise another round later this year to fuel its hardware development and broader expansion.

The fundraise comes amid growing regulatory push for indigenous defence tech startups. India’s defence budget saw a 15.2% YoY increase to ₹7.85 Lakh Cr in FY27.

Last month, reports surfaced that the defence ministry engaged in discussions with Sarvam and other AI startups to launch a ₹300 Cr Centre of Excellence (CoE) to strengthen AI-powered defence capabilities. The CoE will likely build AI systems that will aid in advanced surveillance, reconnaissance, and decision-support systems for the armed forces.

Buoyed by government support, more startups entering the space and the post-Operation Sindoor momentum, VCs are also loosening their purse strings. As per Inc42 data, almost 90% ($68 Mn) of the total $78 Mn raised in funding by defence tech startups over the last decade came in 2025 alone.

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