In a step to further strengthen defence and strategic ties, India and the United State of America(USA) have inked a pact for co-operation in the development of Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (ALUAV).
The Project Agreement(PA) for ALUAV was signed on July 30 under the overall framework of the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) between the two countries, the Defence Ministry said here on Friday.
Describing the pact as a major step towards deepening defence technology cooperation between India and the US, officials said here, the agreement falls under the ambit of the Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation (RDT&E) agreement between the two sides that was first signed in 2006 and renewed in January 2015.
"The PA outlines the collaboration between Air Force Research Laboratory, Indian Air Force, and Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) towards design, development, demonstration, testing and evaluation of systems to co-develop an ALUAV Prototype," the ministry said.
It said the main aim of DTTI is to bring sustained leadership focus to promote collaborative technology exchange and create opportunities for co-production and co-development of future technologies for Indian and US military forces.
Under DTTI, Joint Working Groups on land, naval, air, and aircraft carrier technologies have been established to focus on mutually agreed projects in respective domains.
The PA for co-development of ALUAV has been overseen by the Joint Working Group on Air Systems and is a major accomplishment for DTTI, officials said.
The latest agreement comes in the backdrop of the US terming India in 2016 as a "Major Defence Partner." In the past few years the two countries key pacts like the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016. It allows their armed forces to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.
The two sides have also signed Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement(COMCASA) in 2018 that provides for interoperability between the two militaries and the sale of high-end technology from the US to India.
In October last year, India and the US sealed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement(BECA) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties. The pact provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries.
The Indian army, a couple of days ago, signed a pact for over 100 ‘Explosive-Laden Drones’, which will be manufactured by Bengaluru-based firm Alpha Design-led joint venture along with Israel’s Elbit Security Systems (ELSEC). The drones are called ‘SkyStrikers.’
The contract is estimated to be around Rs 100 crore and was signed as per the emergency powers given to the armed forces for procurement.
The ‘SkyStriker’ drones will have a range of about 100km. These drones will address the Army’s requirement for “loitering munition” – a type of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) built to engage beyond the line-of-sight ground targets with an explosive warhead.