MUMBAI, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Israel’s Elbit Systems have signed a memorandum of understanding to assess the feasibility of joint development of a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) (Rotary UAV of 2000 kilo class) for maritime and land based military operations for domestic and global requirements, a statement from the Indian company said Wednesday.
The proposed VTOL UAVs have a tremendous potential in carrying out maritime military missions with higher efficiency compared to a manned helicopter as it 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 in deploying a VTOL UAV 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 statement said.
This will promote mutually beneficial cooperation between the two companies in terms of technology, manufacturing, marketing and maintenance of the UAV globally, the statement said.
With annual revenues of 2.8 billion US dollars, Hindustan Aeronautics is a state-owned aerospace company headquartered in the country’s Southern city of Bengaluru. It is involved in the design, fabrication and assembly of aircraft, jet engines, helicopters and their spare parts with eight facilities spread across the country.
