Garuda Aerospace recently hosted Major General Gopal Kapoor, Additional Director General, Army Design Bureau, at its defence drone manufacturing facility in Chennai.The visit focused on reviewing the company’s indigenous manufacturing and localisation capabilities, along with its ongoing and proposed projects supporting India’s defence and drone ecosystem.Garuda Aerospace presented an overview of its defence programmes, manufacturing capabilities, R&D initiatives and industry partnerships. The company also highlighted its drone pilot training ecosystem, including its Remote Pilot Training Organisations.It further discussed a proposal submitted to the Chief of Defence Staff to train 80,000 Agniveers across the Tri-Services, along with other projects currently in the pipeline.“India’s journey towards defence self-reliance requires strong collaboration between industry, government, academia and the armed forces,” said Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO, Garuda Aerospace.He added that the visit provided the company with an opportunity to showcase its efforts towards building a more self-reliant defence ecosystem and supporting India’s indigenous drone manufacturing ambitions.During the visit, the Army Design Bureau team also reviewed Garuda Aerospace’s vulnerability checklist and testing processes undertaken in coordination with authorised agencies to assess compliance with applicable defence standards.Garuda Aerospace showcased its 50,000 sq ft manufacturing facility covering design, prototyping, manufacturing, testing and deployment. The facility includes injection moulding, industrial-grade 3D printing, battery assembly and testing infrastructure.The company said its R&D capabilities are supported by more than 50 PhD researchers working across areas such as PCB manufacturing, RF antennae, communication systems and Ground Control Stations.The interaction also highlighted indigenisation as a key element of India’s defence preparedness and reinforced the focus on designing, developing and manufacturing drone technologies domestically.