HAL inks pact with Israeli firm to develop UAV

An MoU was signed between HAL and Israel's Elbit Systems during the DefExpo-2020 on Wednesday to assess the feasibility of joint development of an unmanned aerial vehicle.

The MoU is aimed at assessing the feasibility of a joint development of a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV for maritime and land-based military operations, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited said in a release.

This will promote mutually beneficial cooperation between HAL and Elbit in terms of technology, manufacturing, marketing and maintenance of the UAV globally, it said.

The MoU was inked by Director (Engg and R&D), HAL, Arup Chatterjee; and VP (Business Dev & Marketing), Elbit Systems, Roy Zentnerin, in the presence of the CMD, HAL, R Madhavan.

The proposed UAV has a tremendous potential in carrying out maritime military missions with higher efficiency compared to a manned helicopter.

Deploying a VTOL UAV will bring down the huge costs associated with inducting operating and maintaining manned helicopters on the deck.

It will also benefit the Indian armed forces for a routine surveillance mission or operating in unsafe areas both during day and night, which otherwise would have to be carried out by manned helicopters.

It may also open up new business avenues for HAL culminating in both domestic and export orders, the release added.