Raghu Vamsi opens new facility, unveils six UAV, autonomous defence products

Raghu Vamsi Aerospace Group on Monday formally launched its ₹100 crore DeepTech design, production and integration facility at Hardware Park, near Hyderabad international airport.

Six indigenous UAV and autonomous defence products under a new subsidiary and brand, Arrobot, were unveiled by the Group in the presence of Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan; Bharat Dynamics CMD Commodore A. Madhavarao (retd.); Maj. Gen. Shivendra Kumar, ADG–EME, Indian Army; former Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and former Chairman of DRDO G. Satheesh Reddy and others. Jet-powered loitering munitions, tethered surveillance drones, air-based missile launchers and micro turbojet engines form part of the products, with range exceeding 300 km and speeds up to 650 kmph.

The Group also signed four MoUs, including one with the 515 Army Base Workshop of the Indian Army for co-design, development, testing and validation of advanced drone platforms and associated system. Others MoUs were with Bharat Dynamics for co-development and supply of fully indigenised 200 kgf thrust-class engines to power next-generation autonomous fighter-aircraft platforms; with IIIT Hyderabad for co-development of advanced AI-based autonomy, intelligent perception, swarm intelligence and mission systems to accelerate smart UAV development for defence applications; and with ARCI for collaborative development of laser cladding, additive manufacturing, and thermal barrier coating applications in advancing new aero engine technologies.

Located near a clutch of other Raghu Vamsi as well as a ₹300 crore plant the Group announced last year, the new, 25,000 sq ft facility will house design-to-assembly manufacturing for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), engines and advanced defence systems unit.

The new facility strengthens its ability to support Indian strategic programmes and global customers with faster turnaround times and scalable production, Raghu Vamsi Aerospace Group said. The Group, which has 10 manufacturing sites in three countries and more than 1,000 employees, expects the ₹300 crore manufacturing facility to be ready by 2026. It will comprise three buildings totalling 2.5 lakh sq ft feet on eight acres and estimated to generate employment for over 2,000 people over three years.

Founder and MD Vamsi Vikas said the Group order book for the next three years is around ₹1,500 crore and given the growing demand for the products a new bigger manufacturing facility could not be ruled out. The Group revenues are expected to cross ₹500 crore this year.