Faced with new-age threats from UAVs, the Indian Navy is looking at acquiring directed-energy weapons that will be based on ship decks and strike aerial threats at sea.Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar said “directed-energy weapons” are among the new technologies being sought from domestic industry. The Navy is also looking at quantum positioning systems, high-power microwaves, autonomous underwater vehicles and indigenous ramjet engines for its ships, he said while announcing the fifth edition of the Indian Navy’s flagship indigenisation initiative, the ‘Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Seminar’, Swavlamban 2026.It will be held in New Delhi on October 26 and 27. The seminar will bring together innovators, industry partners, start-ups, MSMEs, academia, investors and the Defence Forces to explore collaborative solutions to emerging maritime security challenges.The Navy Vice Chief said: “These technologies are particularly relevant today when the character of warfare is evolving and changing very rapidly, driven by advances in technology.” Changes in the maritime domain are no exception. The growing use of unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, advanced sensors and network capabilities is changing how navies gather information, make decisions and operate at sea.Asked about directed-energy weapons, Vice Admiral Kochhar said: “Our indigenous industry is quite capable of meeting the challenges. In the coming years, you will see greater and greater deployment of these technologies.”Directed-energy weapons today assume a very significant role and importance because of the threat from small and multiple drones. A directed-energy weapon uses a high-power laser source to take out a target, normally a low-cost UAV.The Ukraine-Russia war is seeing hundreds of drones being launched in real time. Such drones are low-cost. Vice Admiral Kochhar gave an example, saying a small drone like ‘Shahid’ (made by Iran) costs $50,000. If it has to be taken out by a missile costing $2 million or $3 million, it is definitely not worth it. “Therefore, directed-energy weapons come into play,” he said.The Navy is also looking at microwave systems and ‘proximity fuses’ to take on aerial threats. A ‘proximity fuse’ is a small counter-drone system that explodes within a few metres of an enemy drone.