Draganfly to set up manufacturing facility in India

The fuselage of Draganfly's Commander 3 XL UAV consists of a rectangular tube, enabling the airframe to be packed down into a transportable case. (Janes/Akshara Parakala)

US-Canadian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) company Draganfly has signed an agreement with Hyderabad-based Remote Sensing Instruments (RSI) to produce and distribute Draganfly products in India.

Paul Mullen, CEO of Draganfly, told Janes, “RSI will help in licensing production of Draganfly UAVs and sensors under the manufacturing unit named Draganfly India.”

Mohith Buragadda, RSI's vice-president of business development, said, “We are currently in talks with the state government where the manufacturing unit is planned to be built.” Draganfly and RSI plan to establish the facility in Telangana state.

One of the Draganfly products being promoted to India is the Commander 3 XL UAV, which was showcased at the 4th Drone International Expo held in New Delhi from 26 to 27 July.

The Commander 3 XL is categorised as a small UAV, with a maximum take-off weight of 25 kg and a maximum payload weight of 10 kg. Its fuselage consists of a rectangular tube with two quick-release arm assemblies, which are inserted into either end of the tube. The propellers can be folded or released quickly. Batteries are semi-permanently attached to carrier plates, allowing for automatic connection during installation.

The Commander 3 XL UAV is fitted with a winch-down mechanism to deliver payloads. Payloads can also be dropped by the UAV.

Mullen said the UAVs that Draganfly and RSI plan to build in India will be modified to enable high resistance to extreme temperatures. He said they will also be highly modular to accommodate wider payloads to match the requirements of Indian customers.