An Exclusive Interview with Mr. Saurabh Jha, Founder & CEO of Drone Anatomy
Meet Saurabh Jha, the dynamic founder and CEO of Drone Anatomy. In this interview, he shares his journey, the challenges of transforming aerial technology, and his vision for the future of drones.
What inspired the creation of Drone Anatomy, and how did you identify the gap it fills within India’s evolving drone ecosystem?
Saurabh Jha: Drone Anatomy was born from the real gaps we witnessed in the field. For nearly a decade, we worked on drone repairs, custom builds, and service projects for other companies.
That experience showed us the clear disconnect between market-ready drones and the actual on-ground problems in India. Most drones were imported, expensive, and not built for local conditions.
We realized that if India wants its own skies, they must be built by Indians. That belief became our mission—to design and manufacture reliable, Made-in-India drones that solve real problems across agriculture, defence, and enterprise applications.
What were some of the key challenges you faced during the early stages of building a drone technology company in India?
Saurabh Jha: The biggest challenge was scale and funding. In India, there is very limited investment in deep-tech R&D. Building a drone company requires patience, testing, and long development cycles, but most investors prefer faster-return models.
We faced supply chain issues, limited local component manufacturing, and slow regulatory processes.
Still, we turned these challenges into an advantage by developing in-house capabilities, designing our own propulsion and communication systems, and focusing on endurance and reliability. Every limitation pushed us to innovate harder.
How are you integrating AI, data analytics, or automation to enhance drone performance and precision? Can you share an example of a project or innovation that best reflects Drone Anatomy’s capabilities?
Saurabh Jha: AI is at the heart of our new systems. We integrate onboard intelligence that allows drones to make decisions when communication links are disrupted—critical in both defence and remote-area operations.
Our latest system can operate in an electronic warfare (EW) environment, using AI-based self-decision algorithms to continue missions safely even when GPS or signals are jammed. That is where automation becomes survival, not just convenience.
We also use data analytics to improve mission performance—optimizing flight routes, predicting system health, and enhancing safety across long missions.
How is Drone Anatomy contributing to sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, logistics, or public safety?
Saurabh Jha: In agriculture, we are focused on real field-level problems, not just drone spraying demonstrations. Our systems are currently being deployed in Oman’s date farms and will soon cover more regions. These drones reduce labor, save water, and increase yield precision.
In defence, we have multiple systems ready for deployment, including long-endurance VTOL drones, high-altitude operations above 4,000 meters, and strike-capable autonomous platforms.
For infrastructure and public safety, we are developing specialized surveillance drones with real-time data connectivity and AI-assisted situational awareness.
How important is public trust and data security in driving wider acceptance of drones across various use cases?
Saurabh Jha: Public trust is absolutely essential. No technology succeeds without confidence in how data is collected, stored, and used. Drone Anatomy follows strict data integrity and encryption protocols.
For sensitive sectors like defence and infrastructure, all communication and telemetry are encrypted, and data is stored locally on secure servers. We are also working toward compliance with future data protection standards.
For wider acceptance, people must feel that drones help them, not watch them—and that comes from transparency and reliability.
What could help accelerate India’s global dominance in drone manufacturing and technology development?
Saurabh Jha: India has everything it needs—engineering talent, market demand, and government support. What we lack is consistent funding in deep-tech and local component ecosystems.
If India wants to dominate globally, we must invest heavily in indigenous R&D, propulsion, avionics, and power systems. Import dependence must reduce, and startups should be supported through long-term procurement programs, not just one-time pilots.
With these steps, India can not only meet domestic needs but also export high-quality drones worldwide.
How do you balance technical advancement with business scalability in a frontier technology space like drones?
Saurabh Jha: We built Drone Anatomy with a dual-sector model—defence and agriculture. Defence drives deep innovation; agriculture provides volume and stability. This balance allows us to scale while continuing serious R&D.
We also follow a modular design philosophy—core systems remain the same, while payloads and applications change per mission. That keeps production efficient and supports faster scale-up without compromising technology depth.
Our approach is simple: build technology that solves real problems, and business growth will follow naturally.
Saurabh’s insights highlight innovation, leadership, and a passion for excellence—values that continue to propel Drone Anatomy to new heights.
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