Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has announced a strategic partnership with US-headquartered General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to manufacture Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) in India. The collaboration aims to serve the Indian Armed Forces, marking a major milestone in India’s journey toward defence self-reliance under the Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives.
GA-ASI, a global leader in unmanned aerial systems, brings decades of experience in developing and deploying advanced drones. L&T will leverage its strong capabilities in engineering, precision manufacturing, and system integration to ensure high-quality local production of these sophisticated aircraft systems.
The two companies plan to deliver combat-proven MALE RPAS platforms that will be manufactured entirely in India, incorporating critical technology transfers and maximizing indigenous content.
Under this partnership, L&T will be the prime bidder for the Ministry of Defence’s upcoming 87 MALE RPAS programme, with GA-ASI serving as the technology partner. The collaboration will focus on producing GA-ASI’s globally recognized MQ-series RPAS, which have accumulated millions of flight hours across surveillance and strike missions worldwide.
This alliance not only strengthens Indo-US defence cooperation but also positions India as a competitive hub for aerospace manufacturing. It represents a significant step toward building a self-reliant and globally integrated defence ecosystem, capable of supporting both domestic and international requirements in the unmanned systems domain.
