Surge - 6 months to a C-UAS

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From our day of inception, we wanted to build hardware at the speed of software, and 6 months later, we did it. It is tough to explain why we do what we do to someone who doesn't go 'AAAAHHHHH' every time they hear an Indian Air Force jet roar or an airplane breaking clouds apart, but we will give it a shot. 

Surge, is here. 

Our first of many C-UASs is no longer a concept, idea, or prototype. It’s real, it is here, and it is field-ready. In no less than six months' time, we have gone from hunting for an office to building cutting-edge anti-drone machinery. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (well, mostly tears, courtesy of our RF and AI teams). But then again, this is what progress looks like: Relentless innovation, a refusal to settle, and a commitment to the mission. Surge has now successfully been demonstrated with multiple defense regiments. 

Not only did we manage to build Surge, we actually created a family of C-UASs. And now seems to be a good time to look back at our journey and the hows and whys of what we do and how we do.

Part 1: Armory is born, Surge’s journey begins.

1.a. It’s time for India to up its Hardware game: 

While the software industry has peaked, hardware seems to have taken a backseat over the last couple of decades. Our front liners face threats that evolve faster than ever. The battlefield has changed, but the reality is stark. We often hear that modern problems require modern solutions, yet the reality we face today is sobering: the defence industry is either monopolised by giants, leaving little room for innovation or adaptability, or nuance required to meet modern war’s unique needs. 

History reminds us of the cost of stagnation. The question isn’t whether we should upgrade, it’s whether we can afford not to. With Surge, we weren’t just building a tool; we wanted to redefine the possibilities in the field of defence, with indigenised software and hardware constituents. 

1.b. The Market isn’t honest: Why We Do the Way We Do.

A lot of what sells in our market with the label ‘Made in India’ isn’t really made in India. This is often driven by consumer demand for cheaper goods, be it electronics or home furnishing, but it is not a sustainable model for a country like ours and with our aspirations of being a leader. This becomes especially concerning when the same business model is replicated in the defence industry. The market has no dearth of white-labeled, off-the-shelf products and solutions, rebranded and sold as local innovations. These systems aren’t designed with the specific needs of the front liners in mind. They’re patchwork answers in a world that demands precision. 

At Armory, we wanted to bear the torch of other aspirants alongside those who take pride in building in India. Building from the ground up is painstaking, labour-intensive, and expensive, but it’s the only way to deliver real innovation. We believe in creating products that are designed with the end-user’s mission in mind, and national security. From intercepting hostile drones near critical borders to safeguarding operational integrity, our systems are engineered to meet the most pressing defence challenges of today and tomorrow.

1.c. Hire the best people for the job by writing 20-minute-long JDs: 

Be it a mission or an organisation, neither can succeed without a great team. At Armory, we’re not just hiring; we’re building a tribe of exceptional minds who embody:

Trustworthiness, Energy, and Intelligence: We seek people who can be relied on, who bring passion to the table, and who think fast and strategically. 

Proactive Planning and Urgency: Our environment moves at the speed of innovation. Planning ahead, anticipating challenges, and executing swiftly is essential. 

Exceptional Organisational Skills: For the line of work we are in, every detail matters. The smallest detail could mean the difference between success and failure; attention to them is non-negotiable. 

A ‘Get-It-Done’ Attitude: We value action over talk. Our team is built of doers who collectively aim for something insanely great. 

A Passion for Defence: Bonus points if your heart skips a beat at the sound of an airplane revving or the sight of an innovation taking flight. 

If any of this excites you, head over to our careers page and apply now. We promise, Armory will be the best job of your life.

Part 2: From concept to reality

2.a. The Prototypes: We began with a bare-bones prototype, held together by more conviction than resources. It was a classic minimum-viable, sellotaped concept, and of course, in reality, we had a whole sea of anti-drone mechanisms to explore. Having conversations with industry experts reshaped our approach, pushing us from an idea to a functional prototype. 

Finding individuals who aligned with our mission, vision, and most importantly, our grit and passion wasn’t easy, but we got lucky. Our initial focus on radar systems was exciting, but we soon realised that the new-age threats required more than just radar. That’s when we re-focused on our initial prototype, turning it into something more tangible, sophisticated, and impact-driven. A product we proudly named “Surge”. 

2.b. It's so over: Challenges behind prototyping, Engineering roadblocks, and hell.

Conceptualizing the product, building prototypes, and assembling the right team were just the beginning. The real challenge? Figuring out the ‘where’ and ‘how’ of prototyping, and more importantly, finding a vendor who could match our speed. Slow prototyping wasn’t just frustrating; it was a bottleneck. Our iterative approach demanded agility from everyone. 

Then came the semiconductor and PCB roadblocks. The hurdles with PCB sourcing became so complex that we took matters into our own hands and manufactured in-house PCBs to optimise physical footprint, efficiency, and production time (who would have thought!). From reducing the physical footprint to improving efficiency, reliability, and power supply management, every step was a technical puzzle. Conventional cooling mechanisms wouldn’t cut it, Electro-Magnetic Interference mitigation was a constant battle, and designing a low-footprint amplifier pushed us to rethink the standard approach. 

On the software side, things weren’t any easier. Developing a software-firmware toolchain capable of supporting 200 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth was no small feat. The RF domain lacked foundational models, making it even harder to build upon existing research. And when it came to public domain datasets, the scarcity of information meant we had to work twice as hard to gather and refine the data we needed.  

System Integration and field testing threw their own set of curveballs our way. Unlike software, where bugs can be patched overnight, hardware integration is a long-term commitment, one that demands patience, precision, and a stubborn refusal to accept failure.

This is where individual components come together to form a cohesive system, and every moving part must fit seamlessly into the bigger picture. In real-world, high-stakes scenarios, there’s zero room for error, because enemies won’t pause for troubleshooting. Synchronization isn’t just a feature; it’s the backbone of a mission-ready system.

2.c. We are so back: This is just the beginning:

Building a futuristic, field-resilient product isn’t just about innovation; it’s about survival. If it doesn’t work flawlessly in unpredictable, on-ground conditions, it doesn’t work at all. Designing for real-world chaos isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. And trust us, making that happen is anything but a cakewalk.

None of these problems had easy solutions. Definitely happy to share that we did so through relentless iteration, in-house problem-solving, a lack of reliance on external contributors, and of course, a team determined to push boundaries. We not only found solutions but also turned those challenges into opportunities for innovation. 

Surge is here, and drones will be shown their place. 

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