Tata Elxsi and National Aerospace Laboratories Sign Strategic Partnership for Advanced Air Mobility
MoU to Accelerate Innovation
in UAVs, UAM, and eVTOLs for Global Markets
Mumbai,
January 7, 2025 – Tata
Elxsi, a global leader in design and technology services, and the CSIR-National
Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) to establish a Strategic Partnership for Advanced Air Mobility. This
collaboration is focused on driving innovation in emerging areas such as
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Urban Air Mobility (UAM), and electric
vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The partnership combines NAL’s
deep aeronautical expertise and Tata Elxsi’s technological capabilities in
electrification, AI/ML, sensor fusion, and certification processes to support
global and Indian markets.
The global market for UAVs and
UAM is rapidly evolving, with applications spanning industries such as
logistics, agriculture, defence and urban transportation. This partnership will
accelerate product development cycles for these sectors by providing access to
advanced testing infrastructure, methodologies, and expertise. Tata Elxsi and CSIR-NAL
will jointly focus on technologies such as aerodynamic design, autonomous
systems, and secure communications to address the unique needs of both manned
and unmanned air mobility systems.
India presents significant
opportunities through initiatives like Make in India, indigenisation,
and the growing demand for advanced air mobility solutions. The partnership
will contribute to building a robust ecosystem of precision manufacturing,
component suppliers, and tool vendors. It will also help shape industry
regulations and standards, fostering a sustainable framework for innovation and
commercialisation in India.
Manoj Raghavan, MD & CEO
at Tata Elxsi, said: “We believe the future of aerospace
innovation lies in technologies like UAVs and Urban Air Mobility. This
strategic partnership with NAL combines our strengths to push the boundaries of
innovation and accelerate the development of next-generation air mobility
solutions for our customers globally.”
Dr Abhay A Pashilkar, Director
at CSIR-NAL, said: “Partnering
with Tata Elxsi marks a crucial development in our mission to innovate within
the aerospace sector. CSIR-NAL’s deep expertise in aerospace research and
testing, along with Tata Elxsi’s advanced technology and design expertise, will
help us to develop innovative, scalable, and sustainable solutions that will
shape the future of urban transportation.”
As part of this collaboration, Tata Elxsi and CSIR-NAL also envision creating a robust ecosystem that integrates precision manufacturing, tools, components, and vendor partnerships. This ecosystem aims to bring together key stakeholders to foster innovation, enhance scalability, and address the unique requirements of advanced air mobility systems.
About
Tata Elxsi
Tata
Elxsi is amongst the world’s leading providers of design and technology
services across industries including Automotive, Aerospace, Broadcast,
Communications, Healthcare, and Transportation.
Tata
Elxsi is helping customers reimagine their products and services through design
thinking and the application of digital technologies such as IoT (Internet of
Things), Cloud, Mobility, Virtual Reality, and Artificial Intelligence. For
more information, visit www.tataelxsi.com
About
CSIR-NAL
National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), a constituent
of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, established
in the year 1959 is the only government aerospace R&D laboratory in the
country’s civilian sector. CSIR-NAL is a high-technology oriented institution
focusing on advanced disciplines in aerospace. The mandate of CSIR-NAL is to
develop aerospace technologies with strong science content, design and build
small and medium-size civil aircraft and support all national aerospace
programmes. For more information, visit www.nal.res.in