Srikanth Godavarthi Hyderabad

India’srapidly expanding defence tech ecosystem may be attracting more capital and institutional support, but finding people capable of building highly specialised systems is emerging as a bigger challenge for young companies, according to Hyderabad-based defence startup Apollyon Dynamics.

“For us, capital has not been as big a challenge as hiring specialised talent,” Apollyon Co-Founder Jayant Khatri said. “Building groundbreaking technology requires people with very specific skills, and finding that talent, especially for the defence space, is difficult because there is still a significant skill gap,” he said.

The observation comes as Apollyon, founded in May 2025 by Khatri and Sourya Choudhary while they were completing their degrees at BITS Pilani Hyderabad, has moved rapidly from student built prototypes to systems supporting the Indian Army. The startup says it secured its first deployment in Jammu within seven months of incorporation and its systems now support the Army at eight stations, including Chandimandir, Ranchi, Secunderabad and Arunachal Pradesh.

Its portfolio has also expanded from FPV drones and field support systems to more complex platforms, including the Ahuti electric interceptor and the Nightshade family of jet powered uncrewed aircraft.

That technological progression, however, has made specialised manpower increasingly critical. “Our biggest competitive edge is our team of young, hungry and ambitious builders who are willing to solve hard problems,” Khatri said. But building such a workforce is not straightforward. Training engineers to work on highly specialised defence and aerospace systems takes considerable time, while the pool of people with experience across areas such as high performance propulsion, autonomous systems, embedded electronics and advanced airframes remains limited, he pointed out. “Training people to work on highly specialised systems also takes time, so building and retaining that team has been one of our biggest challenges, but also one of the most important things we have invested in early on,” he said.

Khatri is currently in Poland attending MSPO, the International Defence Industry Exhibition in Kielce, one of Europe's major defence industry events. The exhibition brings together defence companies, armed forces and technology providers from across the world, giving Indian startups an opportunity to engage with global players and study emerging technologies and potential partnerships.

For Apollyon, the international exposure comes as it looks to build capabilities beyond individual products and develop a larger technology and engineering base.

As funding and military demand improve, the ability to find, train and retain specialised engineering talent could determine how quickly startups move from promising prototypes to deployable systems.

For young companies working across drones, autonomous systems, propulsion and advanced aerospace platforms, access to specialised manpower could increasingly become as important as access to capital.