India's Sasaa Electronics Private Limited will begin assembling Russian unmanned aerial systems (UAS) of “Transport of the Future” enterprise in March 2024, company’s CEO Rakesh Goel told reporters at the ongoing Dubai Airshow 2023.
In what marks the formal foray of India’s domestically-developed UAV systems into the global market, Indian and Russian companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the co-development and co-production of UAV industry in India.
Goel disclosed that the assembling of Russian drones in the Indian market will begin in March 2024.
“We plan to use the existing infrastructure… The additional investments, which are not much, will amount to less than $10 million,” the Indian CEO stated.
Goel noted that the Russian UAS will be deployed for the use in India’s agriculture sector as well as delivering goods to mountainous areas.
He expressed confidence that urban mobility and freight logistics in India would scale new levels, thanks to such cooperation in the realm of ‘Transport of the Future’.
India’s Growing Domestic Drone Industry
In recent years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been seeking investments in the domestic drone manufacturing industry and even liberalized export rules to attract investors.
Last year, Modi inaugurated the county’s biggest ever drone event titled ‘Bharat Drone Mahotsav’, where the Indian leader highlighted the use of drone technology to advance “good governance”.
Modi also called for increased use of drone technology in the agriculture sector, which is the largest employment generator.
In September, Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh unveiled the ‘Bharat Drone Shakti’ event at the Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Hindon. The event witnessed the participation of nearly 75 drone start-ups from different parts of the country.