Bengaluru: Following the acquisition of Bengaluru-based Alpha Design, the Adani group has made its presence felt at Aero India by securing the biggest display area at the five-day show. In a bid to enhance its defence capabilities, Adani have set their sights on more aerospace and defence companies in India, senior executives said. Adani Defence, in partnership with Israel's Elbit, began its production facility last year for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The company believes it is a serious prospect in the ongoing competition to manufacture 111 naval utility helicopters in the country, having proposed the defence ministry for a new range of UAVs for the armed forces.
"Things are looking positive in the naval utility helicopter programme and we are displaying our capabilities from helicopter gears to systems and avionics. Adani is probably the only company that is currently setting up such capabilities," Ashish Rajvanshi, who heads Aerospace and Defence for the Adani Group said.
Adani Defence made a pitch to the government last month, offering its Hermes 900 for a plan to obtain more than 150 Medium Altitude UAVs.
"We have requested the ministry to procure the systems under the IDDM (Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured) category that requires the highest level of indigenisation. We are positive that we can make at least 60 percent of the UAV in India," Rajvanshi said.
For an order of the Israeli armed forces,the Adani-Elbit facility in Hyderabad will launch the first Hermes 900 UAV in May.