EndureAir Partners With Defence PSUs To Advance Drone Tech In India

EndureAir, an unmanned aviation technology company, has entered into a strategic collaboration with five Defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and key institutions under the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS). The partnership, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), aims to establish cutting-edge testing facilities within the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC).

As the sole private entity involved alongside Defence PSUs—Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Bharat Electronics (BEL), GoI-owned Electronics (GIL), Yantra India (YIL) and BEML (BEM)—as well as IIT Kanpur and the UP Defence Corridor, EndureAir is set to play a crucial role in this initiative. The new facilities will drive technological advancements and provide essential infrastructure for testing and refining unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and other niche defence technologies.

A highlight of the initiative is the establishment of a dedicated UAS testing facility at Technopark IIT Kanpur. This milestone is expected to significantly advance the drone industry and enhance the development of indigenous defence technologies in India.

Abhishek, Co-founder of EndureAir, expressed enthusiasm about the project, “The establishment of the UAS testing facility at IIT Kanpur will ensure easy accessibility for all end users. At EndureAir, we hope to leverage this infrastructure to develop world-class, high-performance UAS solutions.”

The MoU aims to increase self-reliance and reducing dependency on imports within the defence sector. The new facilities will facilitate the certification of UAS and subsystems to meet international standards, fostering collaboration between private industry and the government. This to bolster indigenous defence production and support the aerospace and defence sectors within the Defence Industrial Corridors.

The company believes that the new testing facilities will address the need for advanced infrastructure to rigorously test unmanned aerial systems, ensuring they meet high performance and reliability standards for the Indian Army.

It will also enable subsystem-level testing to ensure high system reliability, which will promote industry growth and open foreign markets and supporting emerging UAS companies in Uttar Pradesh by facilitating timely certification for their products.