JSW and Shield AI drone factory project: The JSW Group has begun a large new defence project near Hyderabad. The company is worth $23 billion and now plans to build unmanned aerial systems at Maheshwaram, which is an electronics manufacturing cluster on the edge of the city.
The group will spend $90 million, which is about Rs. 850 crore, to set up this new facility. The foundation stone ceremony took place on Tuesday, and leaders like IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu and JSW Group’s Parth Jindal attended the event.
JSW has formed a long-term partnership with Shield AI, a defence technology firm based in the United States. This deal allows JSW to produce Shield AI’s Group 3 unmanned aerial system called V-BAT. The licence also includes transfer of technology. The V-BAT is a fixed-wing drone that can take off and land vertically. It can fly for long hours and is used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance work. Many armed forces already use it, including the U.S. Marine Expeditionary Units.
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Production will Start In 2026
JSW Defence plans to begin manufacturing by the last quarter of 2026. The group says the investment will help them build a strong local supply chain in India. The new facility will let them make, assemble and test the V-BAT drones in the country. It will also allow India to produce these drones in large numbers. India’s Armed Forces will be able to get them, and the site may also grow into a global production centre for the V-BAT.
The factory will cover 16 acres of land. It will have space for production, repair work, testing and office operations. The Minister’s office said the project will create over 300 high-value jobs. JSW believes this will push India forward in drone technology.
Parth Jindal said the project will do more than make drones. According to The Hindu, Hhe explained, “From manufacturing the globally renowned V-BAT at scale, the facility will lay the foundation for an integrated, end-to-end UAS ecosystem, from advanced manufacturing to operator training, manufacturing repair and operations (MRO) and sustained innovation. This project stands among the most significant defence technology transfers to India.”
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More Defence Ventures
JSW is also working on other defence ideas. Parth Jindal said the new drone project comes after the group set up JSW Gecko Motors, a joint venture with a Ukrainian company. This unit makes special mobility vehicles in Chandigarh. It started about 18 months ago and has already supplied nearly 200 vehicles to the Indian Army and the United Nations. In the same location, JSW has another joint venture with an American company to make off-road vehicles.
The total investment for all these defence projects will be Rs. 1,200 crore. This includes Rs. 320 crore that goes toward the technology transfer from Shield AI. The Indian Armed Forces are now studying the drone from a localisation point of view. The first order is for eight drones, which will be imported under the emergency procurement route. Shield AI will handle this directly
Minister Sridhar Babu said Telangana wants to grow into a big defence hub for India. He shared that the State is building a strong base for drone systems and advanced defence manufacturing. He said the government is preparing a clear plan to make Telangana a global leader in defence innovation. He added that the State wants to focus on unmanned aerial systems, drone technology and aerospace production.
