India's Mahindra, Israeli Aeronautics Team Up for Naval UAVs

India’s Mahindra Defence and Aeronautics of Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding early this week to partner for Naval Shipborne Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

As per the contract, both the firm offer a UAV system which can be launched and recovered from Indian warships. The partnership is to offer the maritime version of Orbiter 4 for the Indian Navy.

The Aeronautics Orbiter 4 is an advanced multi-mission platform with an ability to carry and operate two different payloads simultaneously. With an open architecture, the Orbiter 4 can be specially adjusted to the needs of each mission. Among the different payloads the Orbiter 4 can carry are Maritime patrol radar (MPR), Cellular interception sensor, Satellite communication, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Automatic Identification System (AIS) and advanced electro-optic payload. Orbiter 4 capabilities include maximum endurance of up to 24 hours, maximum take-off weight of 50 Kgs, maximum flight altitude of 18,000 feet while operating different payloads.

The UAV will carry state of the art sensor payloads as required by Indian Navy. The UAV will be capable of being launched and recovered from small warships that do not have a helicopter deck including small warships which are around 50 m in length. This UAV will be a force multiplier for the Indian Navy.

Amos Mathan, CEO Aeronautics LTD said: “Aeronautics has entered into this partnership to offer the maritime version of Orbiter 4 to Indian Navy. We will work together with Mahindra Defence to manufacture Orbiter UAVs in India. We are ready for transfer of technology and transfer of production line in India. This is a sign of Aeronautics’ commitment to India by offering our newest and most advanced aerial solutions for operations by Indian Navy - one of the best navies in the world.”

SP Shukla, Group President, Aerospace & Defence Sector, Mahindra Group and Chairman, Mahindra Defence, said: “Mahindra group has been supporting Make in India initiative whole heartedly. We always identify high quality products and enter into partnerships that we believe will bring maximum value to our defence forces. We believe that Indian armed forces should get the state of the art products while we develop skill and competency for defence manufacturing indigenously. Specifically, we have entered into this partnership to address a range of possibilities from offsets to manufacturing in India which includes transfer of technology and life time support of the product”.