Indian Army Signs $20M Contract with ideaForge to Procure Drones

The Indian Army has signed an approximately $20 million contract with ideaForge to procure its surveillance drone. The drone startup founded by IIT Mumbai alumni,has emerged as the only vendor that met the requirements of the Indian Army and will supply its flagship drone Switch UAV over a period of one year.

The contract marks a strategic shift in the Indian defence procurement process as the Indian Army goes on an aggressive modernization drive. It has also cemented ideaForge’s position as India’s largest manufacturer of drones for defence, homeland security and industrial applications that makes it the first ‘Made in India’ drones that will be trialed and tested in the Ladakh region.

According to the company, Switch UAV is an indigenous system built to cater for the most demanding surveillance operations of the Indian Forces. This Fixed Wing VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) UAV can be deployed at high altitude and harsh environments for day and night surveillance in Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. It is man-portable and has the highest time on target compared to any other UAV in its class .

“Switch UAV is the culmination of insights and knowledge we have gained over years of experience in helping the Indian Forces operationalize UAVs in their ranks. The trials saw about a dozen national and global players compete to meet the operational requirements,” ideaForge CEO, Ankit Mehta said.

Mehta added that this deal is a testimony of the fact that our systems are fully ready to serve nations that seek to protect their territorial sovereignty.

“A combination of world-class technology and a deep understanding of customer requirements has resulted in ideaForge bagging this contract against global competition. With the backing of reputed institutional investors such as WRVI, Infosys and Qualcomm, ideaForge is all set to grow rapidly,” said Ganapathy Subramaniam, Partner – WRVI Venture Capital who also serves as Executive Chairman – ideaForge.

“We plan to work with like-minded investors and partners to achieve our vision of premier drone company serving enterprise, security and surveillance market globally,” he added.