EndureAir collaborates with five Defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), participating under the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS). Under this transformative initiative, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish advanced testing facilities within the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC).
Being the sole private firm involved alongside the five Defence PSUs (namely HAL, BEL, GIL, YIL and BEM), IIT Kanpur, and UP Defence Corridor, EndureAir is poised to play a pivotal role in this endeavour. Establishing these state-of-the-art testing facilities will drive technological advancements and provide essential infrastructure to test and refine niche defence technologies, particularly in unmanned aerial systems.
One of these facilities is dedicated to Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), which will be in Technopark IIT Kanpur, marking a significant milestone in the drone industry and the advancement of indigenous defence technologies in India.
Prof. Abhishek, Co-founder of EndureAir, commented, “We are honoured to be a part of this landmark initiative. The establishment of UAS testing facility at IIT Kanpur would ensure easy accessibility to all end users and at EndureAir we hope to leverage this infrastructure to build world class high performance UAS solution. We look forward to contributing to the growth of the defence sector and supporting the vision of a self-reliant India.”
This MoU represents a crucial step towards enhancing self-reliance and reducing dependency on imports within the defence sector by facilitating certification of UAS and subsystems to meet international standards. The initiative fosters collaboration between private industry and the government, aiming to boost indigenous defence production and support the aerospace and defence sectors within the Defence Industrial Corridors.
These testing facilities would address several key challenges faced by the drone industry in India:
- Enhanced testing capabilities: The Indian UAV industry today faces challenges of testing facilities or space, to test advanced drones. These facilities provide advanced infrastructure for rigorous testing of unmanned aerial systems, ensuring they meet the highest standards of performance and reliability for the Indian Army.
- Faster path to certification: UAS for defence application, particularly in higher weight category would need to be certified as per international standards. UAS testing facility would enable sub-system level testing to ensure high reliability of the system, which would result in higher customer satisfaction eventually promoting the growth of industry and would help open foreign markets.
- Integration with defence industrial corridors: The emerging UAS companies that are looking to establish their manufacturing plants in Uttar Pradesh would receive a boost through this initiative by helping them in get timely certification for their products.
This collaboration underscores a significant shift towards self-reliance and indigenous production in the Indian defence sector. For EndureAir, and the broader drone industry, this development marks a crucial opportunity to leverage advanced testing infrastructure to drive innovation and enhance the global competitiveness of Indian-made UAVs. The facility will serve as a benchmark for future advancements, facilitating the testing and deployment of sophisticated unmanned systems that meet both national and international standards.