Sagar Defence Partners Boeing’s Liquid Robotics To Boost Maritime Security

Mumbai-based defence technology startup Sagar Defence Engineering has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Boeing’s wholly-owned subsidiary Liquid Robotics to co-develop autonomous surface vessels in India.

These unmanned vessels are used in naval autonomous operations to collect data, surveillance and tactical operations.

The partnership aims to boost undersea domain awareness and establish maintenance capabilities for such platforms in the Indo-Pacific region.

The agreement encompasses manufacturing, system interoperability, ocean testing and building the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capacity for the Wave Glider ASV platform.

It is pertinent to note that Wave Glider is an unmanned surface vehicle designed and manufactured by Liquid Robotics which is being used in collecting oceanographic and atmospheric data. The company claims that the boat-like machine runs on waves and solar energy.

“This strategic partnership brings together the best of the US and Indian defence capabilities by co-developing advanced technologies like the Wave Glider, strengthening our aim to contribute towards fostering innovation within India’s defence ecosystem,” said Nikunj Parashar, founder of Sagar Defence.

Founded in 2015 by Parashar, Sagar Defence Engineering develops unmanned underwater vehicles specifically catering to the needs of Indian naval operations. The startup has partnered with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to give the nation its first underwater-launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

The development comes almost a month following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US where strategic collaborations on defence was one of the major highlights. Also, India and the US kick-started a new initiative named Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA) to scale industry partnerships and production in the Indo-Pacific.

Moreover, the two nations also launched the US-India TRUST Initiative, which would become a catalyst in forging partnerships between governments, academia and the private sector to spearhead technological advancements in areas such as defence, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, biotechnology, energy and space.

India has been the largest importer of arms and ammunition in the world but the country has been scaling up its efforts to support homegrown defence startups with the emergence of initiatives like defence ministry’s iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) and Technology Development Fund (TDF) which are offering collaboration opportunities and grants to startups operating in this area.

Others have also come forward to push India’s ‘Make In India’ dreams and support startups in the defence sector. For instance, last year former defence secretary Ajay Kumar floated a venture capital fund with a corpus of INR 250 Cr to support early stage startups in the defence, aerospace and deeptech domain.