- Make in India Gets Winged in London
- Strategic UAV MoU Signed Between India & UK
By Sangeeta Saxena
Excel Centre, London. 11 September 2025. It is a great feeling when you are the only journalist from back home in India covering and Indian MoU signing at a foreign defence show. ADU is reporting live from DSEI UK 2025 in London, where Bharat Forge, one of India’s foremost engineering and forging giants, has just signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding with UK-based autonomous cargo drone innovator Windracers Limited. The agreement sets the stage for a two-year collaboration to deploy and localize the heavy-lift UAV ULTRA in India. The announcement, made on the exhibition floor, paves the way for joint trials, technology transfer, and a clear framework to enable deployment of ULTRA for both defence and civil applications across India.
In an exclusive chat with ADU Amit Kalyani Joint MD of Bharat Forge stated, “ it’s about bringing the Windracer product to India in a manner that meets all the Indian requirements including local content norms etc. And we believe that this is a product that is a very easy to adapt and use product for the onboard supply and replenishment duty where you currently use either a helicopter or have to do it by plane or by ship. So I think this is a very good solution, it’s going to be very cost effective, it’s going to be very safe and it’s going to be very easy to use.”
The collaboration advances aerospace technology transfer and innovation in both nations, builds upon the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and supports India-UK Vision 2035. With a two-year initial period, the MoU gives both businesses the chance to progress localization, carry out cooperative experiments, and draft a final agreement for deployment in India.
He added , “ right now this is for the Navy because it needs to land on a vessel that can accept its footprint. So it will start with aircraft carriers and then probably move over to the other forces. But it’s also possible to use in unprepared airfields etc. So it’s also possible to use it on land.”
The MoU could pave the way for broad shifting of UAV deployment in India—if regulatory, infrastructure, and operational hurdles are addressed. Bharat Forge and Windracers aim to reach a definitive agreement post-trials, and early success could lead to scaled usage of ULTRA UAVs in civil relief operations, remote terrain supply, and defence missions. In doing so, the partnership may strengthen India’s credentials as a manufacturer and user of advanced unmanned aerial technology and further push India into export readiness in this domain.
Amit Kalyani, expressed that the company was delighted to partner with Windracers under the positive climate fostered by the UK-India FTA. He noted that the Windracers ULTRA not only enhanced India’s indigenous UAV capabilities but also delivered robust solutions for high-stakes logistics across some of the world’s most challenging geographies. According to him, with its industry-leading payload capacity and proven performance in high-altitude, maritime, and remote terrains, the ULTRA was uniquely suited to tri-service needs. It expanded Bharat Forge’s reach with an offering tailored to all three domains—naval, air, and land—while aligning with the Indian Ministry of Defence’s 15-year roadmap prioritising unmanned logistics, naval operations, high-altitude supply chains, and dual-use technologies.
The ULTRA had already demonstrated its multi-mission resilience and reliability in international operations, including ongoing support for Antarctic research missions. It was expected to deliver similar advantages to India by enabling safe and efficient transport over hazardous and inaccessible terrain.
The Windracers ULTRA is built for six- to seven-hour endurance missions and employs proprietary mission control and autopilot technology. ULTRA was created to function in a variety of conditions, including the distant Northeast of India, the high-altitude Himalayan landscape, and the oceanic and island regions of India.
Simon Muderack, CEO of Windracers in an one-on-one conversation with ADU informed, “ so specifically we were brought together by UK Defence Export Services around an opportunity that Bharat Forge had identified with the Indian Navy. We previously as a company have had some success with trials on one of the UK aircraft carriers, so I think that is how the discussion originated. And for us the Indian market is a very interesting market, clearly in order for us to be successful we need to work with a tried and trusted partner like Bharat Forge.”
This collaboration is firmly set in the context of India’s push for advancing indigenous UAV capabilities under Make in India and dual-use technologies. The venture leverages the favourable climate created by the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and aligns with the India-UK Vision 2035 initiative. The localisation, trials, and operational adaptation of ULTRA are seen as steps not only to reduce import dependency but also to build strategic autonomy, especially in logistics, surveillance, and defence support systems.
He added, “ potentially, the scope of the MOU is quite broad, so it’s a sales, marketing, distribution, potentially support, assembly and ultimately manufacture relationship. So depending upon how the business grows around this opportunity and broader opportunities, there really is a broad scope that we can apply to this. And ultimately that would be a sign of success, if we could see Bharat Forge manufacture these platforms for us, partnering with us around the operations as well as assisting us in the sales activity, that would be the ideal outcome for both parties. The initial opportunities for the Navy, we have had some broader conversations, but in the first instance it’s a naval conversation that we are having. But the product in its phase that it is today, will it fit into the Air Force and the Army requirements – yes, we already have live active use cases where we fly over water but we also fly over land and we work with all areas of armed services.”
Windracers’ ULTRA has steadily carved out a strong presence in the global UAV market as one of the few proven heavy-lift autonomous platforms capable of sustained operations across extreme environments. Designed for multi-mission roles, ULTRA has already been deployed in support of Antarctic research missions, demonstrating resilience and reliability in some of the harshest geographies on earth. Its endurance, large payload capacity, and modular design have positioned it as a sought-after solution for governments, humanitarian agencies, and defence forces worldwide. Beyond the UK, the UAV is being trialled in Europe, Africa, and North America for logistics, disaster relief, and defence supply missions, making ULTRA an emerging benchmark in the rapidly expanding global cargo drone sector.
“This platform has flown in North America, it’s flown all across Europe without getting too specific. It’s flown in, shortly we will be flying in Africa, we’ve flown this platform down in the Antarctic, so it’s tried and tested. Tried and tested, right. We’re delighted at the opportunity to work with Bharat Forge, really excited at the opportunity to scale our business in India. Clearly we live in some challenging times, but by the same token it also has presented some business opportunities. And the relationship between the UK and India from a defence perspective has arguably never been more important.
ULTRA’s proven global track record significantly strengthens its appeal in the Indian defence and logistics market, particularly in the context of Bharat Forge’s new partnership. By demonstrating operational success in diverse regions for India, where military logistics often stretch from high-altitude Himalayan posts to vast maritime frontiers and remote interior regions, ULTRA offers a field-tested platform that aligns directly with these challenges. Its adaptability to dual-use roles means it can serve both the armed forces and civilian agencies, supporting disaster relief, border management, and critical supply chains. Through localisation under Make in India, the Bharat Forge–Windracers partnership ensures that India can harness a globally recognised UAV solution while simultaneously building indigenous capacity for large-scale deployment.
Under the terms of the MoU, the ULTRA UAV will be tailored to meet India’s tri-service requirements—Army, Navy, and Air Force—and will be evaluated for operations in challenging terrains. Bharat Forge highlighted that ULTRA has already proven resilient in international operations and is capable of carrying significant payloads while operating in high-altitude, remote, and maritime environments. The UAV is seen as especially useful for roles such as Carrier On Board Delivery (COD) for the Indian Navy, high-altitude logistics support, and remote-area supply chains.
This is not only the beginning of a partnership between two companies but also the start of a bond between two friendly nations in the field of unmanned systems. But the most exciting part of the complete event was the presence of the third generation of the Kalyani family Adit son of Amit Kalyani and the grandson of the legendary Baba Kalyani.
Bharat Forge Limited, part of the USD 3.5 billion Kalyani Group, is a global leader in high-performance components across sectors such as Automotive, Railways, Defence, Construction, Mining, Aerospace, Marine, and Oil & Gas.
