New Delhi [India]: At IDEX-2023, EDGE, a prominent technology and defence organization, and Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), a defence and aerospace firm, agreed to collaborate on various ventures such as creating missile systems and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) through a Memorandum of Understanding.
IDEX 2023 is the world’s largest and most demanded tri-service defence exhibition, and this year it is going to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, until February 24.
According to the statement from EDGE, HAL is a top player in the military and civil markets for designing, developing, producing, supplying, and maintaining aircraft, engines, aerospace equipment, avionics, helicopters, and associated components.
As per the Memorandum of Understanding, EDGE and HAL will investigate possibilities for collaboration, such as creating missile systems and unmanned aerial vehicles together. Furthermore, they will consider using HAL’s small gas turbine engines for EDGE’s guided weapons, employing EDGE’s GPS jamming and spoofing equipment on HAL’s platforms, and exploring prospects for exchanging knowledge.
Cooperation between the two companies will also extend to mission computers, training programs, and the use of additive manufacturing for metallic parts. This exploration will occur at the exceptional facilities of EDGE and HAL, situated in the UAE and India.
According to the statement, during IDEX-2023, ICOMM, which is a group company of Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL), has inked a deal with CARACAL, a unit of EDGE based in the UAE, for the first-ever Transfer of Technology (ToT) in defence equipment.
As per their contract, ICOMM will focus on local-level manufacturing, like small arms for the Indian market under the ‘Make in India’ and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives.
During the event, Hamad Al Ameri, the CEO of CARACAL, expressed that collaboration with ICOMM in the Indian market is a crucial goal for the company. As India strives to achieve its defence goals, CARACAL looks forward to collaborating with ICOMM, which has expertise in providing end-to-end solutions across multiple sectors, including engineering and defence, which complements CARACAL’s portfolio of advanced small arms.
Ameri said that the Transfer of Technology agreement with ICOMM, which comes after a previous Memorandum of Understanding signed last year, will enable ICOMM to offer a complete range of small arms that meet the Indian government’s fast-track procurement requirements for the Indian Army.
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