Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) made a spectacular entry at the Aero-India 2019 with the first ever ‘Drone Olympics' competition for UAVs held on February 21 at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bengaluru. The Aero India exhibition, on the theme ‘The Runway to a Billion Opportunities’ designed to bolster business in the international aviation sector and provide a platform to showcase India’s aeronautical advancements, garnered a huge number of registrations from both India and abroad. Under its banner, the ‘Drone Olympics’ organised by ministry of defence, was aimed to encourage the UAV industry to connect with potential buyers and business partners in the country and also provide an opportunity to the armed forces to assess the capabilities of UAVs, the role of which is ever-increasing in the defence sectors, making them the ideal platform for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, electronic warfare and strike missions.

An overwhelming response was received for participation in the competition, both from companies and individuals. More than 120 applications were received, out of which 57 applicants who were found suitable were invited to participate.

The preliminary rounds of the competition were organised at Jakkur Aerodrome, Bengaluru from February 18-19. During the competition, drones designed by teams from different companies and individuals were seen in action during various challenges which included the surveillance competition, supply drop and formation flying challenges to assess the military capabilities of the drones and their reconnaissance and camouflage abilities under various conditions. The competition finals were held on February 21 at Air Force Station, Yelahanka Bengaluru where all the finalists competed under various categories. The competition saw many innovative solutions and use of the latest technological advancements by the participants. The winners of each competition were honoured with medals and cash prizes.

During the award ceremony, Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog launched ‘ATL Drone Module – Get Set Fly!’ created in collaboration with the blooming drone industry in India. The goal of the ATL Drone module is to introduce young minds of India about the technology and help them to identify and solve community issues using drones as a tool.

The winners of the competition will be invited to demonstrate the best of human machine interaction during Lockheed Martin’s Alpha Pilot Race in the United States later this year.

BEL and Hughes India Signs Agreement for Helicopter SATCOM Solutions

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hughes India have entered into a teaming agreement for design, development, supply, installation, integration and commissioning of satellite communication solutions for helicopters under the ministry of defence, government of India during Aero India 2019.

Director (marketing), BEL, Anandi Ramalingam and president, Hughes India, Partho Banerjee signed the MoU in the presence of director (other units), BEL, Nataraj Krishnappa, on February 20.

The agreement will enable MoD’s strategic users to get enabled with helicopter-based satellite communication links for real-time and assured communications using Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) Ku band satellites. Through this agreement, BEL and Hughes India are collaborating using their respective state-of-the-art technologies and capabilities in developing these integrated and sophisticated helicopter solutions.

BEL and Elettronica SpA (ELT) Signs MoU

At Aero India Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Elettronica SpA (ELT), Italy, entered into a MoU for joint development, commercialisation and production of new generation EW surveillance systems.

Director (marketing), BEL, Anandi Ramalingam, chief operating officer, ELT, Domitilla Benigni and vice president, Elisra, Israel, Irmin Menscher signed the MoU documents in the presence of CMD, BEL, M V Gowtama and other senior officers of BEL.

The MoU will enable BEL and ELT to jointly develop new generation EW surveillance systems to meet global requirements.

BEL has expertise in the design, development, engineering and manufacture of electronic warfare and avionics, radar and weapon systems, NCS and communications systems, naval systems, electro-optics products, tank electronics and gun systems, satcom systems, homeland security and smart city solutions, strategic components and select non-defence products.

ELETTRONICA is a world leader in Electronic Warfare with a complete portfolio of state-of-the-art solutions to satisfy the most challenging requirements of modern operational scenarios. The solutions designed and manufactured by ELETTRONICA cover a wide range of applications and missions

BEL Receives Export Order for USD 33 Million from ELOP

Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) received export orders valued about USD 33 million from Elbit Systems Electro-Optics Elop Ltd (ELOP), a subsidiary of Elbit Systems Ltd, Israel, on February 21, at Aero India, for the manufacture and supply of state-of-the-art next generation EOIR payloads (CoMPASS Rev III, Trade Mark of ELOP) and another variant of EOIR payload (CoMPASS III, Trade Mark of ELOP) for Airborne applications.

President & CEO, Elbit Systems Ltd, B. Machilis handed over documents of the export order for BEL from ELOP to CMD, BEL, M. V. Gowtama in the presence of director (marketing), BEL, Anandi Ramalingam and other senior officers of BEL and ELOP.

As part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government of India, BEL had already entered into Technical Collaboration Agreement (TCA) with ELOP for the Transfer of Technology for the manufacture of these EOIR payloads and for providing lifetime maintenance support at its manufacturing facility in Chennai.

BEL has already established the necessary infrastructure and is supplying the EOIR payloads manufactured at its facilities to domestic and foreign customers. BEL is augmenting these facilities for meeting the upcoming requirements of variants of EOIR payloads for the domestic and export markets.

The CoMPASS Rev III is a day-and-night surveillance system that includes a colour TV daylight camera, 3rd Generation Medium Wave IR (MWIR) sensor, Laser Target Designator and Range Finder (LTDRF), Short Wave IR (SWIR), internal GPS and automatic tracking capabilities, as well as command and control capabilities. It is distinguished by a wide variety of interfaces, enabling integration with various aircraft/ helicopter systems, such as the mission computer, fire control, radar, GPS, data downlink and helmet-mounted tracking systems. Its small dimensions, low weight, high level of stabilisation and coverage angles make it an optimal