BonV Aero, a deep tech start-up, is set to get mentorship access to United States Department of Defence and Department of Home Land Security to obtain certifications that will help the company offer its logistic drones to the global market.
BonV Aero top brass said the breakthrough into the US market will be via the I2A, India to America, launchpad programme which would provide an opportunity to showcase its unmanned aerial vehicles designed for both military and commercial purposes.
“We would be travelling to the US in May to sign a couple of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs). We are looking for test beds there so that we can check our UAV technology to ensure that it conform to their standards,” company CEO Satyabrata Satapathy said.
He said he was hopeful that the logistic drones will be certified by the US DoD given that they are already complaint with the National Defence Authorisation Act. According to him, the company already holds NATO certification to supply logistic drones to the alliance.
When asked if BonV Aero drones are free from Chinese components, Satapathy said they are wholly ‘Made in India’ product, be it radio, airframe, motor, propulsion system. We would not have been selected by the US, if we had Chinese components in our logistic drones, he observed.
The startup, launched in 2021, has already supplied 30 logistic drones to the Indian Army which are currently deployed at the challenging conditions of high altitude in the Himalayas .
The company said it is also partnering with the Indian Army for joint development of logistic drones.
Now the firm is bringing its technology — drones that run on batteries and lift 30 kg at 19,000 feet — to the US, with the plans to scale up to 58 kg at 18,000 feet and eventually to 500 kg over 300 km, said Baibhav Patel, Manager, Government Affairs and Public Policy, BonV Aero.
Patel said they offer dual use technology so that it can be used for military as well for commercial purposes. It can be used in disaster management, offering solutions in challenging terrains for last mile delivery, he said.
