Two 20-year-old students from BITS Pilani’s Hyderabad campus have disrupted India’s defence-tech sector by building and operationalising bomb-dropping, radar-evading kamikaze drones—entirely from a hostel room. Within just 60 days of founding their start-up, Apollyon Dynamics, the students secured orders from frontline Indian Army units across Jammu, Haryana’s Chandimandir, West Bengal’s Panagarh, and Arunachal Pradesh territories critical to India’s national security.
Their journey didn’t begin in an industrial lab or military think tank. It started in the confines of a student dormitory, driven by passion, patriotism, and sheer technical prowess.
Jayant Khatri, a mechanical engineering student from Ajmer, Rajasthan, and Sourya Choudhury, an electrical engineering student from Kolkata, form the core of Apollyon Dynamics. United by their shared love for robotics and defence applications, the duo built their first combat drone using off-the-shelf components. They adapted each unit to Indian climatic and terrain conditions, prioritising ruggedness and stealth over glossy commercial tech.
In a bold move, Khatri began cold-emailing Army officers via LinkedIn. One of those emails found its way to a colonel who responded—and invited them for a live demonstration in Chandigarh. “We didn’t have a company yet just an idea and working prototypes,” said Khatri. “We were nervous, but we believed in our product. When the colonel called us to Chandigarh, we didn’t hesitate.”
At the demonstration, Army officials witnessed something unprecedented: a student-built kamikaze drone racing past at over 300 km/h, dropping a 1kg payload with pinpoint precision—all while evading radar detection.
The speed alone—nearly five times that of conventional commercial drones—was enough to grab attention. But what clinched the deal was its functionality. These were not academic prototypes; they were battle-ready machines built for mission-critical tasks.
“The Army officers were visibly impressed,” recalls Choudhury. “We showed them racing drones, strike drones, and even conducted a simulated combat scenario. They gave us on-the-spot feedback and asked for additional capabilities.” Days later, orders came pouring in. Apollyon Dynamics was born.
Their flagship product a radar-evading kamikaze drone represents a quantum leap in asymmetric warfare. Moving at high speeds with stealth features, it can deliver targeted payloads deep into hostile territory, all without being detected.
“Our drones are not just fast; they’re practically invisible on conventional radar systems,” said Choudhury. “Every piece is hand-assembled, tested under rigorous conditions, and optimised for Indian borders whether it’s the icy terrain of Arunachal or the dusty ranges of Panagarh.”
The duo doesn’t just build and ship UAVs. They also provide hands-on training to Army personnel, including those with zero prior experience. “Soldiers with no background in drone piloting can be field-ready in days,” said Choudhury. “That’s how intuitive we’ve made the system.”
What started as a defence-tech club project on campus has now become one of India’s most promising military drone startups. The Apollyon Dynamics team has grown to six second-year students and is already working on next-gen fixed-wing and VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) platforms for deep reconnaissance and tactical strike missions. University officials say the success of Apollyon Dynamics is a vindication of their focus on real-world innovation.
“This is classroom innovation transforming into battlefield impact,” said Professor Sanket Goel, mentor and faculty at BITS Pilani. “Jayant and Sourya have shown what’s possible when technical brilliance meets national purpose.”
Their work recently received a personal endorsement from Chancellor Kumar Mangalam Birla during a closed-door presentation at the Hyderabad campus. “Their project is a blueprint for the future of India’s indigenous defence ecosystem,” a university official said.
