JSW Defence Pvt. Ltd. and Shield AI, Inc, a U.S defense technology company, have established a strategic partnership to indigenise and manufacture Shield AI's V-BAT, a Group 3 Unmanned Aerial System. JSW says that the collaboration marks a significant step in boosting India's defense capabilities by bringing in world-class UAS technology to the country.

As part of the partnership, the $24 billion JSW Group will invest around $90 million in the next two years, with $65 million allocated in the first 12 months to establish JSW's global compliance program, a manufacturing facility to ensure proper technology licensing, and training of manpower. This investment will enable JSW to establish a local supply chain and create an advanced facility in India for manufacturing, assembling and testing V-BAT aircraft. This effort will enable large-scale production of V-BATs in India to serve the needs of the Indian Armed Forces and also function as a global production hub for Shield AI.

The V-BAT is a fixed-wing, vertical take-off and landing, long endurance intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance platform, currently deployed by multiple armed forces around the world, including the United States' Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs). It provides cutting-edge ISR functionality in a highly tactical system, capable of being forward deployed in complex and adversarial territory in order to provide a range of flexible solutions to special forces, front-line infantry, armored and artillery units. V-BAT has a unique, patented ducted-fan design with the advantage of a small logistics footprint and ease of rapid deployment.

Parth Jindal of JSW Group says, "Our collaboration with Shield AI is in keeping with our commitment to induct mission-critical technologies for deployment by the Indian Armed Forces and play an integral role in indigenizing defense technology in India. Through this partnership, we will be able to supply indigenous V-BATs at scale, provide flight operator training, and end-to-end maintenance, repair and overhaul services to the Indian Armed Forces. The JSW Group has always believed in bringing world class products and services with State-of-the-Art technology into India and this partnership is yet another milestone in this journey."

Sarjan Shah, Shield AI's Managing Director for India, comments, "Shield AI has been an early mover on investing deeply in India, in line with both governments' desires for a closely integrated defense supply chain between the US and India. This partnership with JSW has been crafted over a multi-year period to transform the depth, scale and scope of India's indigenous capabilities in the field of military unmanned systems. We look forward to doing a lot more with our partners in India."

"Shield AI is excited to enhance the Indo-US strategic partnership through collaboration with JSW Group, strengthening our commitment to deploy cutting-edge UAS technology globally and harness India's vast engineering and manufacturing talent," adds Brandon Tseng, Shield AI's President, Co-Founder and a former Navy SEAL. India, designated as a Major Defense Partner by the United States in 2016 and elevated to Strategic Trade Authorization tier 1 status in 2018, is one of only two countries with this designation - the other being the UAE, where Shield AI also has offices

"JSW recognizes the same thing Shield AI does: that Group 3 UAS like the V-BAT can accomplish the same missions as many helicopters and larger Group 5 UAS for a fraction of the price," says Tseng. "As the market shifts from expensive, exquisite aircraft to swarms of lower-cost, AI-piloted UAS, this collaboration builds upon Shield AI's significant U.S. investments, enhances global distribution, and supports continued expansion of U.S. operations."