Chennai. With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Garuda Aerospace and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) intend to jointly address upcoming opportunities for the supply of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to Indian Defence Forces, Central Police Organisations (CPOs), and specialised security groups.
The MoU was signed between Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and Director, Garuda Aerospace Ltd, and Prahalad, General Manager – Marketing, Bharat Electronics Limited, in New Delhi on January 13, 2026.
The MoU establishes a framework for cooperation wherein BEL will act as the Team Leader and Lead Bidder, while Garuda Aerospace will serve as the Technology and Teaming Partner. The collaboration aims to leverage BEL’s extensive experience in defence electronics, system integration, and programme execution, together with Garuda Aerospace’s capabilities in advanced drone design, manufacturing, and deployment.
The partnership reflects a shared intent to develop and deliver indigenous, mission-critical unmanned solutions aligned with the evolving operational requirements of India’s defence and internal security ecosystem, while supporting the national objective of self-reliance in defence manufacturing under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
To take this collaboration forward, the parties will enter into a separate Teaming Agreement at a subsequent stage. This agreement will define the binding terms of engagement, including scope of work and work-share distribution, based on end-customer requirements and applicable procurement processes.
Commenting on the partnership, Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and Director, Garuda Aerospace, said, “This collaboration with BEL marks an important step in advancing India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision for defence manufacturing. Garuda Aerospace has consistently collaborated with defence and government agencies, while contributing to national initiatives including Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, Namo Didi among others. Partnering with BEL allows us to further strengthen this ecosystem by combining their leadership in defence electronics and system integration with our operationally proven drone technologies, enabling the delivery of scalable, mission-ready, and fully indigenous UAS solutions for India’s security forces.”
Bharat Electronics Limited, has taken this milestone on to their social media handles and added that, “the collaboration aims to leverage BEL’s extensive experience in Defence electronics, system integration, and programme execution, together with Garuda Aerospace’s capabilities in advanced drone design, manufacturing, and deployment. The partnership reflects a shared intent to develop and deliver indigenous, mission-critical unmanned solutions that cater to the evolving operational requirements of India’s Defence and internal security ecosystem, while supporting the national objective of self-reliance in defence manufacturing under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.”
The signing of this MoU marks an important milestone in fostering collaboration between a premier public sector defence enterprise and a new-age Indian drone manufacturer, enabling the development of scalable and indigenously developed unmanned aerial systems for national security applications.
