General Atomics has announced a partnership with Bharat Forge to manufacture main landing gear components, subassemblies, and assemblies of remotely piloted aircraft in India

US-based drone manufacturer General Atomics has signed an agreement with leading Indian forging company Bharat Forge to manufacture main landing gear components, subassemblies, and assemblies of remotely piloted aircraft. The move is expected to help India build a manufacturing ecosystem for high-end drones in the country.

The partnership has been announced between General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), a subsidiary of General Atomics and Bharat Forge Ltd.

Chief Executive of General Atomics Global Corporation Vivek Lall in his statement about the agreement said “GA-ASI is eagerly looking forward to working with Bharat Forge in the critical field of Aerostructure manufacturing,"

“Bharat Forge’s expertise in the field of forging is known globally, and their outstanding contributions in the aerospace sector has inspired us to work together for building the next generation of the world’s most advanced unmanned aerial vehicles," Lall added

In a statement, GA-ASI added that it is confident that its collaboration with Bharat Forge will result in significant capability building for both companies and provide an impetus to the Indian large, unmanned aircraft industry.

While Bharat Forge Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Baba Kalyani in his statement said, "This(Aerospace) is a culture by itself and demands a strong focus on people and processes. As part of our Aerospace Growth Strategy, our collaboration with GA-ASI is a strong testimony of our culture in Bharat Forge Aerospace to assimilate and demonstrate the same, as partners to General Atomics, in making India Atmanirbhar."

As per a company statement, Bharat Forge is the largest repository of metallurgical know-how, design and engineering expertise, and manufacturing prowess in India. The forging company has over five decades of experience in manufacturing a wide range of high-performance, critical safety components.