Drogo Aerospace Signs MoU With Munitions India For Loitering Munition, UAV Systems

City-based defence technology company Drogo Aerospace Pvt Ltd on Friday signed an MoU with Munitions India Limited (MIL), a Defence PSU, for collaboration in the design, development and integration of indigenous UAVs and loitering munition systems.

The MoU was signed in Pune by Yashwanth Bonthu, Founder and CEO of Drogo Aerospace, and Kumar Vaibhav Gaur, Executive Director, MIL.

Under the partnership, Drogo Aerospace will focus on the design, development and manufacturing of UAV platforms, besides developing associated empty-payload hardware, Drogo Aerospace said in a release here.

MIL will contribute its expertise in defence munitions and warhead technologies, it said.

Loitering Munitions Systems are advanced UAVs designed for precision strikes. They can loiter over a target area, gathering intelligence before executing a precise objective with a payload.

As part of the collaboration, MIL will contribute its capabilities in areas, including munitions design, explosive systems, payload filling, fuzing and modular munition development, it said.

The two organisations will work together on subsequent stages of development, including munition–UAV integration, safety evaluation, field and range trials, and quality certification, it said.

The partnership is expected to bring together UAV engineering, munition technology, payload systems and defence-grade integration capabilities, with the objective of developing indigenous unmanned systems for authorised defence requirements, it said.

A key element of the collaboration is Drogo Aerospace’s indigenous Delta Wing Kamikaze UAV/loitering munition platform, which the company said was successfully tested recently in Hyderabad.

The Delta Wing Kamikaze is a loitering munition-type unmanned platform designed to identify and engage designated targets.

The term "Delta Wing" refers to the triangular wing configuration, while "Kamikaze" is commonly used in modern defence terminology to describe one-way attack drones or loitering munitions that are designed to strike their intended targets.

Drogo Aerospace said the platform was being developed keeping long-range defence requirements in view.

According to the company, it is being designed for a mission range of up to 1,000 km and a warhead-carrying capacity of approximately 20–30 kg.

The MoU with MIL is expected to strengthen the platform’s munition and warhead integration capabilities and facilitate its progression through the next stages of development, integration and validation, the release said.

Bonthu said the Delta Wing Kamikaze represented an important step in the development of advanced indigenous unmanned systems for India’s defence requirements.

He said the combination of Drogo Aerospace’s UAV engineering capabilities with MIL’s expertise in munitions and warhead technologies would add strength to the partnership.

The recent successful test of the Delta Wing Kamikaze provided further momentum to the programme, he said, adding that the MoU would support the company in moving towards integration, validation and mission readiness.

"We are happy to be part of this MoU to strengthen the Indian defence through collaborating with Drogo," the release quoted Gaur as saying.