Elbit Systems and Adani Enterprises have finalised a joint venture agreement to manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in India.
The new JV (Joint Venture), Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India, was established on 7 November, and will operate in the aerospace & defence manufacturing sector.
It was announced in April that Elbit had signed a letter of intent with Adani for the JV, along with a separate agreement with Alpha Design Technologies. Both JVs involve pitching Elbit’s Hermes 450 and 900 systems to the Indian market.
The JV will try to break into the Indian UAV market that is largely dominated by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
After joining the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) as a full member in June, India is moving ahead to implement its plan to purchase the IAI Heron TP UAV.
India is operating the Heron 1 and other smaller Israeli-made UAVs, but the purchase of a strategic UAV like the Heron TP had been put on hold. Last year, India’s The Economic Times claimed the government had quietly approved the purchase of 10 missile-armed Heron TPs from Israel.
