Aeronautics makes the Orbiter series of UAVs which have been sold in many countries globally

CHENNAI: Mahindra Defence - part of the Mahindra Group - on Wednesday said it has signed up a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Israeli company Aeronautics for naval ship borne unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

In a statement issued here, Mahindra Defence said the two companies will offer a UAV system which can be launched and recovered by Indian warships.

Aeronautics, a leading manufacturer, is an Israeli public listed company and is a key player in the defence domain.

Aeronautics makes the Orbiter series of UAVs which have been sold in many countries globally.

The Aeronautics Orbiter 4 is an advanced multi-mission platform with the ability to simultaneously carry and operate two different payloads.

With an open architecture, the Orbiter 4 can be specially adjusted to the needs of each mission.

Among the different payloads the Orbiter 4 can carry are maritime patrol radar (MPR), cellular interception sensor, satellite communication, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), automatic identification system (AIS) and advanced electro-optic payload, the statement said.

Mahindra Defence and Aeronautics have entered into the partnership to offer the maritime version of Orbiter 4 to the Indian Navy, the statement said.

"Aeronautics has entered into this partnership to offer the maritime version of Orbiter 4 to Indian Navy. We will work together with Mahindra Defence to manufacture Orbiter UAVs in India," Amos Mathan, CEO, Aeronautics was quoted as saying in the statement.

"We are ready for transfer of technology and transfer of production line in India. This is a sign of Aeronautics' commitment to India by offering our newest and most advanced aerial solutions for operations by Indian Navy - one of the best navies in the world," he added.

"Specifically, we have entered into this partnership to address a range of possibilities from offsets to manufacturing in India which includes transfer of technology and life-time support of the product," S.P. Shukla, Group President, Aerospace & Defence Sector, Mahindra Group and Chairman, Mahindra Defence was quoted as saying in the statement.