Israeli firm to hard sell drones in India

Bengaluru: Israeli defence and homeland security solutions firm, SpearUAV forayed into India to hard sell its micro-tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones for meeting the needs of defence and paramilitary sectors, an official said on Friday.

Spear has signed an agreement with Paras Aerospace, a subsidiary of the city-based Paras Defence and Space Technologies Ltd, to market its drones (Ninox- 40) for use by military forces, paramilitary, internal security and law enforcing agencies.

"The Indian defence sector faces many challenges in surveillance of its borders, in jungles and wooded areas as well as in dealing with natural forces, including monsoon storms, cyclones and earthquakes," said Spear chief executive Yishai Amir on the margins of the 13th biennial Aero India 2021 expo at the Yelahanka air force base on the city's outskirts.

The four-year-old Tel Aviv-based Spear has domain expertise in drones, aerospace, Artificial Intelligence (AI), software and communications.

"Designed for single-user operation, Ninox 40 is a micro-tactical, cost-effective UAV, featuring an encapsulated drone and control unit," Spear and Paras said in a joint statement issued here.

Weighing under 250 grams, the lightweight Ninox-40 can be fitted into a soldier's vest and carried on-person during combat.

"Our drone (Ninox-40) has a flight capacity of up to 40 minutes, extensive Istar (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance) capabilities, day and night camera for enhanced situational awareness and automatic tracking," said the statement.

The drone can be launched on the move, from under cover and in harsh environmental conditions.

The partners will jointly address the needs of special forces, defence services and national disaster response team by providing their warriors an Istar capability to complete their mission and save lives.

As a technology provider, Paras caters to state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), defence public sector units and private firms across the country and to firms in other Asian and Gulf countries.

"We are collaborating to enhance the military preparedness of our special forces with Ninox-40 and leverage Spear's technologies to deepen its use in India," said Paras Managing Director Munjal Shah on the occasion.