New Delhi: India's leading drone start-up Garuda Aerospace has signed an agreement with Israel-based international defence electronics firm Elbit Systems at the Defence Expo 2022 in Gandhinagar to provide Skylark 3 unmanned aircraft system (UAS) drones to commercial as well as government agencies.
Garuda Aerospace also said Skylark 3 will be mainly utilised for the Survey of India projects to implement large-scale surveying and mapping of villages under the Swamitva Scheme. The company said these high-end drones would be equipped with advanced sensors which can be utilised for large-scale mining projects for steel plants, coal mines like BCCL, Coal India, NTPC facilities across the country. Drone Shakti projects will also be areas of joint development for technology and execution.
The companies would also design, build and customise unmanned aerial vehicles for various applications across this promising and diverse sector, according to the statement. The superior drones can be operated for around 6-9 hours with increasing cost-efficiency and endurance. Garuda Aerospace has already been the most successful firm with Swamitva projects, having recently completed mapping of over 7,000 villages in just one year for the government, in a cost-effective manner, according to the statement released today.
The statement said this strategic alliance would further look at executing a massive order book of Rs 150 crore in a shorter duration and was expected to increase Garuda Aerospace's revenue by over 1000 per cent in the mapping service vertical. Garuda Aerospace Founder and CEO Agnishwar Jayaprakash said: "It's been a great Defence Expo for Garuda Aerospace as we have partnered with Elbit Systems Ltd and we look forward to define an ecosystem of drones, providing ultimate support to several government agencies."