Kamikaze drone maker’s stock jumps after Operation Sindoor. It has an Adani connection

Elbit Systems, the Israeli defence tech giant listed on NASDAQ under the ticker ESLT, saw a sharp uptick in investor interest following India’s Operation Sindoor, which marked the first known operational deployment of SkyStriker kamikaze drones—a weapon jointly developed by Elbit Systems and Alpha Design Technologies, now part of the Adani Group. 

The stock, which had dipped slightly in the days prior, jumped from $400.00 on May 6 to $414.47 on May 8, a 3.62% rise in just two sessions, mirroring the timing of India’s multi-branch precision strike campaign across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The SkyStriker loitering munition, often referred to as a “suicide drone,” played a decisive role in Operation Sindoor. Designed for precision strikes and stealth operations, it allowed Indian forces to take out terror infrastructure with minimal collateral damage. 

These drones are manufactured in Bengaluru at a facility run by Adani’s Alpha Design Technologies in joint partnership with Elbit Systems, under the government’s “Make in India” initiative.

Originally developed by Elbit in Israel and adapted for Indian requirements through the joint venture, the SkyStriker can carry either a 5 kg or 10 kg warhead, with a loitering endurance of up to 2 hours. Its electric propulsion system makes it nearly silent, enabling deep penetration missions with a high degree of stealth. Operators can abort a strike as late as two seconds before impact and re-engage if needed, or return the drone if no viable target is found. These features allowed India to conduct pinpoint aerial attacks during the operation while keeping pilots and ground forces out of harm’s way.

More than 100 units of the SkyStriker were ordered by India in 2021 following the Balakot airstrikes, but Operation Sindoor marks their most visible deployment to date. Used for precision fire support, target elimination, and real-time tactical coordination, the drones served as a force multiplier—quietly locating and destroying high-value targets across hostile terrain.

The stock market reaction underscores the strategic and commercial value of the SkyStriker program—not just for Israel’s Elbit Systems, but also for India’s growing defence manufacturing sector led by players like Adani Defence