Garuda Aerospace, Airbus Helicopters Sign Deal to Expand Drone Fleet

Chennai’s Garuda Aerospace has signed a contract with Airbus Helicopters to acquire up to 18 Flexrotor uncrewed aerial systems. The agreement aims to expand the company’s global drone leasing and services portfolio.

The Flexrotor is Airbus’ Group 2 small tactical vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) uncrewed aircraft system (UAS). It has a maximum take-off weight of 25 kg (55 lbs) and is designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions for more than 12–14 hours in a typical operational configuration. It mainly targets land and sea operations.

The deal will see the Flexrotor drones added to Garuda Aerospace’s global fleet. The systems will support monitoring, inspection, and surveillance missions across civil, industrial, and public sectors.

Garuda Aerospace plans to offer the Flexrotor systems through dry lease and wet lease models. Clients will use the drones for infrastructure inspection, pipeline monitoring, railway oversight, and disaster response, the company said in a release.

It will also deploy systems for wildfire monitoring, search-and-rescue operations, and law enforcement tasks.

“With over 1 million flight hours, 30% market dominance in the agri-drone segment, and a diversified presence across agriculture, defence and industrial sectors, the Flexrotor’s arrival further strengthens our ability to deliver high-endurance, mission-critical unmanned solutions for the most demanding operations worldwide,” said Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO of Garuda Aerospace, in a statement.

He said the company has manufactured and sold over 5,000 drones and served more than 500 enterprise and government clients worldwide. Airbus Helicopters developed the Flexrotor as a light, tactical unmanned aerial system designed for long-endurance missions. 

The Flexrotor can launch and recover autonomously from confined land areas or maritime platforms. It requires a launch and recovery space of about 3.7 metres x 3.7 metres.

The Flexrotor integration forms part of Garuda Aerospace’s plan to build a global UAS ecosystem. The company aims to support complex monitoring and intelligence missions across industries worldwide.