Hyderabad-based RADPL announces JV for 30-hour endurance MALE-300 drone

The MALE-300 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drone will have a 300-kg modular payload, 30-hour endurance and an operating altitude of 30,000 feet

Hyderabad-based technology and manufacturing company Raghava Aerospace and Defence Pvt Ltd (RADPL) has announced a joint venture with Peridot Advanced Materials for the MALE-300 programme, a fully indigenous Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE)-class unmanned aircraft.

 

The indigenous MALE-300 is an unmanned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) drone project featuring a 300-kg modular payload capacity, 30-hour endurance and an operating altitude of 30,000 feet, with a fully Indian-owned design.

 

G Satheesh Reddy, former secretary, Department of Defence R&D, and former chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and presently president of the Aeronautical Society of India, inaugurated RADPL at Kokapet in Hyderabad earlier this week.

 

 

Reddy said India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem had come of age. Development-cum-production partners across the country are today manufacturing missiles, bombs and guns, he noted, with private industry accounting for about 40 per cent of these partners.

 

He added that the government has earmarked Rs 1.39 trillion of the defence budget for indigenous manufacturing under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, calling it a clear signal of the opportunity before Indian industry.

 

Reddy observed that India had transformed from an importer into an exporter of defence equipment, pointing out that Armenia showcased three Indian weapon systems in its Republic Day parade — a moment of pride for the country’s defence industry.

 

Congratulating the management of RADPL and wishing the company success, Reddy advised the team to set its sights beyond the domestic market.

 

“Focus not only on indigenous manufacturing, but also on exports,” he said.

 

RADPL is an Indian electronic system design and manufacturing company serving aerospace, defence and homeland security programmes. The company works across three verticals — research and development, electronic system design and manufacturing, and composite structures.

 

Its Hyderabad facilities include a Class 1 lakh clean room for microwave assembly, RF and microwave test infrastructure up to 40 GHz, ESD-controlled assembly and integration laboratories, and a full composite manufacturing line consisting of filament winding, autoclave, large-format CNC tape winding, industrial oven, hydraulic press, prepreg, radiographic and ultrasonic testing.

 

The team brings together more than 200 man-years of engineering experience across more than 10 active defence programmes.

 

The company has grown through five strategic acquisitions — DTS, which specialises in electronic warfare and wideband RF; HQPPL, focused on missile-borne RF systems and telemetry; Signalinx Techsystems, which works on FPGA-based embedded systems and power electronics; Rainbow Advanced Composites, which makes ablative and FRP missile components; and Aerospace Advanced Composites, which specialises in large composite structures and thermal protection.

 

These businesses have been integrated into a single design, qualification and production platform.

 

Likhith Reddy Ponguleti, managing director of RADPL, said: “Reddy’s message is our roadmap — take proven indigenous capability in RF, telemetry, embedded systems and composites, scale it into production our defence programmes can count on, and carry it to export markets.”

 

RADPL is engaged in the design, development and production of mission-critical RF and microwave systems, electronic warfare products, airborne electronics, embedded and power-electronic systems, and aerospace composite structures for critical defence and homeland security programmes.