TATA Elxsi and Garuda Aerospace have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Aero India 2025 to establish a UAV design, engineering, and certification centre for developing indigenous drone technologies. The collaboration aims to support the ‘Make in India’ initiative with applications in Indian defence, agriculture, and smart cities.

TATA Elxsi will lead the design, development, testing, and certification of UAV subsystems, using its expertise in areas such as avionics, miniaturization, ground control systems, secured communication, and energy optimization.

Garuda Aerospace, as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), will lead business acquisition and delivery. The partnership will focus on developing indigenous UAV systems, including drones, sensors, AI-driven analytics, and eVTOL Solutions.

Key aspects of the partnership:

Integration of AI/ML-driven solutions to enhance drone efficiency, achieving a 20% reduction in energy consumption and over 20% cost savings.

Establishing a 100% indigenous vendor ecosystem for UAV development and manufacturing, reducing reliance on imports.

Accelerating UAV development cycles by up to six months, supporting a rapidly growing market with significant potential.

The drones will cater to applications like payload management, goods delivery, precision agriculture, and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) missions.

The Indian defence forces and Border Security Force are expected to benefit from this collaboration through access to cutting-edge UAV capabilities. This initiative is also expected to create new employment opportunities and contribute to workforce development in the aerospace sector.

Jayaraj Rajapandian, Head of Aerospace, Rail & Off-highway, TATA Elxsi, said that the partnership with Garuda Aerospace marks a major milestone in India’s aerospace ambitions, strengthening the country’s defence ecosystem and self-reliance in aerospace technologies.

Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder & CEO of Garuda Aerospace, added that the collaboration reinforces their commitment to indigenous innovation and aims to strengthen India’s leadership in UAV technology over the next three to five years through fully indigenized production and supply of airborne and ground systems.

PTI