Garuda Aerospace indigenous defence drone: Garuda Aerospace has given senior Army officials a look at its defence drone manufacturing work in Chennai as India continues to push for more locally made military technology.
Major General Gopal Kapoor, Additional Director General of the Army Design Bureau (ADB), visited the company’s defence drone facility on Friday. The visit focused on Garuda Aerospace’s work in local manufacturing, indigenous technology and its plans for future defence projects. The company is also working across defence, industrial and drone training segments. Its website lists defence drones and Remote Pilot Training Organisations among its main activities.
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Army team reviews Garuda Aerospace’s drone work
During the visit, Garuda Aerospace explained how it designs and builds its drones in India. The company presented details about its defence programmes, research work, manufacturing systems and partnerships with other organisations.
The Army Design Bureau team also looked at the company’s vulnerability checklist and testing methods. These checks are carried out with authorised agencies to see whether the systems meet the required defence standards. The visit also gave the Army team an opportunity to understand projects that are already running as well as those being planned.
Garuda Aerospace also spoke about its growing drone pilot training network. This includes its Remote Pilot Training Organisations or RPTOs. The company discussed proposals made to the Chief of Defence Staff to train 80,000 Agniveers across the three services. Other drone-related projects are also in the pipeline.
50,000 sq ft facility has several manufacturing systems
A major part of the visit was the company’s 50,000 sq ft manufacturing facility. The unit brings several stages of drone production under one roof, starting from design and prototyping and going up to manufacturing, testing and deployment.
The facility includes injection moulding machines, industrial-grade 3D printing systems, battery assembly and battery testing facilities. Garuda Aerospace said more than 50 PhD researchers are involved in its technology and R&D work. Their areas include PCB manufacturing, RF antennae, communication systems and Ground Control Stations.
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Garuda Aerospace has also expanded its manufacturing and drone ecosystem in recent years. The government had earlier highlighted the company’s drone manufacturing and skill-development facilities as part of India’s growing indigenous drone industry.
Army praises focus on indigenisation
Major General Gopal Kapoor praised the company’s efforts to strengthen India’s domestic drone manufacturing base. He also appreciated its investments in infrastructure, technology and research.
The visit placed special focus on indigenisation as part of defence preparedness and the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision. The idea of “Design in India, Develop in India and Manufacture in India” was also highlighted during the interaction.
Garuda Aerospace founder and CEO Agnishwar Jayaprakash said “Major General Gopal Kapoor’s visit at our facility is an important milestone for us given we were presented with an opportunity to showcase how we are building a more self-reliant and resilient defence ecosystem,”
Jayaprakash said the company remains committed to India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision and wants India to become a global centre for indigenous drone technology and manufacturing. He also stressed that stronger cooperation between industry, government, academia and the armed forces will be important for India’s defence self-reliance.
