The problem
Drone claims travel faster than evidence
New drones are announced every week. Ranges, endurance figures, TRLs and indigenous content percentages are repeated across brochures, press releases and social posts until repetition looks like proof. A procurement team, a prime, an integrator or an investor still has to decide: trial it, team with it, order it, fund it. TRUSTVECTOR™ replaces repetition with evidence, and gives the decision-maker one structured answer with the reasoning behind it.
How a run works
Collect
Vendor pages, brochures, spec sheets, press, official releases and any published test data are gathered and archived with the date.
Extract
Each claim is recorded as a structured item with its source, date and verbatim quote. Source quality is graded.
Check
Physics and arithmetic checks, the indigenous content bill of materials and the amplification analysis run in code, not opinion.
Score
Seven dimensions are scored with cited evidence. The composite is computed by fixed weights, with a confidence band.
Review and report
A Vayuantriksh analyst assesses field readiness, signs off and issues the formal dossier.
Capabilities
What a TRUSTVECTOR™ run delivers
Open-source evidence pipeline
Collects the vendor's own claims, spec sheets and brochures, plus press coverage, official releases and any published live-test results, then keeps a dated snapshot of each source.
Source grading
Sources are tiered: vendor, media, official, independent test. A claim backed only by the vendor's own channels is scored as exactly that.
Cited claims, with gaps stated
Every finding carries its source URL, date and quoted line. Where nothing public exists, the dossier says "not found". It does not fill the gap from memory.
Physics and arithmetic checks
Endurance against battery energy and mass, range against link budget, payload fraction, speed and detection range against the radar equation for counter-UAS claims.
Example: a claimed 45 minute endurance on a 111 Wh pack at 2 kg is estimated at 10 to 25 minutes. Flagged, with the working shown.
Indigenous content, component by component
A bill of materials view of flight controller, motors, cells, camera, datalink, navigation and airframe, set against the DAP 2020 cost-based definition. Imported critical parts and source code control are flagged.
Drone-specific intake
Built-in classes for nano, FPV, VTOL, MALE, loitering munition, swarm and counter-UAS, with structured fields for endurance, range, payload, MTOW, altitude, datalink and GNSS-denied operation.
Seven-dimension claim screen
Technical plausibility, comparative maturity, TRL alignment, indigenous content, institutional validation, capacity and independent corroboration, each scored with its reasoning.
Reproducible scoring and confidence
The composite comes from fixed weights, not from a model's mood. Thin evidence widens the confidence band, so a low-information claim never reads as a precise number. Two independent passes are compared, and disagreement is flagged.
Amplification check
Separates genuine independent coverage from one claim repeated across posts and reprints. Repetition is treated as a single source, not as corroboration.
Analyst field-readiness assessment
A Vayuantriksh analyst scores deployability, power and grid integration, MTBF and maintainability, EMI and environmental ruggedisation, training burden, C2 and ISR interoperability and supply chain resilience.
Peer comparison
A matrix that sets the system against others of the same class, including the reference systems already tested or fielded, so a figure is judged against the state of the art.
Rerun and watch
Claims change. A run can be repeated on a schedule and the changes in claims, evidence and scores tracked over time. Public findings feed Drone Watch only as general, anonymised questions, never as a client's dossier.
Formal dossier
A multi-page, searchable report: findings, scores, working, evidence appendix with sources, assumptions, limits and analyst sign-off.
Confidential by design
Runs are performed by Vayuantriksh on its own systems, under login, with client names and results kept private. Only open-source material is used.
Sample output
What the dossier looks like
An illustration with a fictional system. It is not a real company, product or result, and the figures are shown only to explain the format.
Claim as made: "45 minute endurance, 12 km range, 85% indigenous, TRL 7, user-trial proven." Four sub-claims extracted, eleven sources collected, two of them independent.
- No independent corroboration of the claimed range
- TRL 7 asserted with no trial report
- Critical components sourced abroad
- Flight log from a full-endurance sortie
- Component origin declaration
- Name and date of the user trial
- Plausible airframe, unproven system
- Readiness limited by supply chain
- Re-score after trial data is produced
Illustrative only. Real dossiers carry the full evidence appendix, every source and the analyst's signed assessment.
Potency and limits
Why the result can be trusted
- Evidence before opinion. A finding without a source does not enter the score.
- Physics is not negotiable. The arithmetic checks are code and show their working.
- Repetition is not corroboration. The amplification check stops volume from passing as proof.
- Human judgement carries the weight. The analyst assessment is 65% of the blended score by design, because field readiness cannot be read from a brochure.
- Nothing is hidden. Method, weights, assumptions and gaps are in the report.
What it is not
- It is a structured screening opinion, not a certification, test or legally binding procurement determination.
- It uses open sources only. It cannot see classified trial data, and says so where that matters.
- A low score means "warrants scrutiny", not "confirmed false". A high score means the public evidence is consistent, not that the system is proven in your conditions.
- It does not replace a user trial. It tells you what to ask for before one.
Relevance to the defence drone ecosystem
Drones are bought on claims. This is how to read them.
India's drone and counter-UAS sector is moving fast, with emergency procurement, iDEX, Make-II and a large crowd of start-ups. That speed is where over-claiming lives: TRL inflation, indigenous content counted on low-value assembly, endurance and range figures that do not close, and demos presented as qualification.
Procurement and evaluation teams
Know which claims to test in a trial, and which questions to put to the vendor before it starts. Compare competing offers on the same footing.
Primes and integrators
Check a prospective teaming partner or subsystem supplier, including real indigenous content and supply chain exposure, before committing.
Investors and funds
Separate technical substance from narrative in due diligence, with a dated, cited record you can put in front of an investment committee.
Start-ups and manufacturers
Stress-test your own claims before a trial or a bid, and fix the gaps an evaluator will find. A claim that survives TRUSTVECTOR™ is easier to defend.
The service
What you receive
TRUSTVECTOR™ is a service, not a product. Vayuantriksh runs the tool and controls the output. You do not need to supply vendor material, and you do not need to approach the vendor. Scope, scale and fee are agreed per run.
Questions
What is TRUSTVECTOR?
TRUSTVECTOR™ is a confidential claim validation service for defence drones, loitering munitions and counter-UAS systems, run by Vayuantriksh Defence Aerospace Consultants. It tests each claim against cited open sources and physics checks, and ends with an assessment signed off by a Vayuantriksh analyst. It is a service, not a product: the software is not sold or licensed.
Who is it for?
Procurement and evaluation teams, primes and integrators, investors and funds, and start-ups or manufacturers who want to stress-test their own claims before a trial or a bid.
What do I receive?
A formal dossier, scored, cited and signed by a Vayuantriksh analyst; an evidence appendix with every source dated and quoted; a verification list of the documents, logs and trials to ask the vendor for; and, on request, a briefing with your team.
How long does a run take?
It depends on the claim. Each run draws on several researched inputs, such as vendor material, press, official releases and any published test data, which are collected and checked before the result is produced. We confirm the timeline when we agree the scope.
How much does it cost?
Pricing is on request. Scope, scale and fee are agreed for each run.
Do I need to supply vendor material or contact the vendor?
No. You do not need to supply vendor material, and you do not need to approach the vendor.
Is a TRUSTVECTOR dossier a certification?
No. It is a structured screening opinion prepared from open sources only, not a certification, test or binding procurement determination. It cannot see classified trial data and says so where that matters. It tells you what to ask for before a user trial; it does not replace one.
Have a specific drone, loitering munition or counter-UAS claim to examine? Tell us the system and the decision it supports. We will confirm the scope and the timeline.
Request a TRUSTVECTOR™ run →About TRUSTVECTOR™. TRUSTVECTOR is a trademark of Vayuantriksh Defence Aerospace Consultants. Dossiers are screening opinions prepared from publicly available sources and engineering principles. They do not use classified or proprietary information and are not certification, procurement or investment advice. The sample dossier on this page describes a fictional system. Public, general findings on claims are published in Drone Watch. Related reading: The indigenisation illusion, The drone dependency trap, Unjammable drones.
Copyright and attribution. © 2026 Vayuantriksh Defence Aerospace Consultants. The TRUSTVECTOR™ method described on this page, including its assessment dimensions, weighting, scoring bands and dossier format, and the sample dossier are the original work of Vayuantriksh. No part of this page may be copied, reproduced or republished, in print, online or in AI training or summarisation services, or used to build or market a similar service, without written permission. Brief quotation is welcome only with clear attribution to Vayuantriksh and a link to this page, for example: Source: Vayuantriksh TRUSTVECTOR, https://vayuantriksh.in/trustvector/. For permission or licensing, write to us.