Idea Forge’s CEO Ankit Mehta told Asianet News how drone technology became an important part of Indian defense after 26/11. The company’s UAVs are making a big contribution to the abilities like army monitoring, Operation Sindoor and Sworm drone today.
In the Mic’d Up with Asianet News, we will introduce you to men and women who are making self -reliant India a reality in the defense sector. Today’s guests are co-founder and CEO Ankit Mehta of Idea Forge. In a special conversation with Asianext Digital’s Contant Head Adit Charlie, he explained in detail about the future and monitoring technology of Defense Technology, UAV (Dron).
The Idea Forge Company is about 20 years old. Listed in the stock market 2 years ago. Today the valuation of the company is more than Rs 2000 crore. In 2005, Ankit Mehta started the journey, there were many other sectors at that time but why did they choose UAVS, Drone, Defense? Ankit told- Actually, in 2007 we registered the company. Initially, it was not intended to work with the drone. We started by creating a hand crankd charger. It was a portable electronic devices to charge mobile, which was a good option for places where electricity was not properly available.
As students, we used to do many projects and IIT Bombay (our college) used to fund us. At the same time I filed a patent on an energy device. We felt that this would be the right place to start a business and that is why Idea forge was named.
We also used to project mobile robotics for fun. My co-founder Rahul’s idea was to make a hovercraft and run it in Powai Lake in Mumbai. It is a matter of 2004. After making some hovercraft prototypes we felt and innovative should make something. Then in 2004, as a student project, we created a quadcopter drone, which was like a 4 rotors helicopter. From there, the journey of drone started, although we started the business with chargers.
After the 26/11 attack, we felt that drone technology could help the security forces. Then in 2009 we created the first quadcopter drone and since 2010 we have been providing this technology to security forces.
Ankit Mehta spoke openly on the drone’s Future, Operation Sindoor, Drone Approach of the Government of India. Read below, excerpts from the conversation between Adit Charlie and Ankit Mehta …
Question: … So the real trigger point was 26/11?
answer: Yes. We were already making technology. In 2007, we created the first autopyilot. The funny thing is that the world’s first open source autopylot came in 2009, while we are before that. The team of IIT Bombay won the top honors in a competition with MIT US. This reached our technology to protect and research labs. But the real inspiration was 26/11. During that time the Navy helicopter was trying to watch the hotel floor. If we felt that if there were drones, this work would have been easier. Then we thought it should be given to the Indian security forces as a real product.
Question: What kind of products do you have? Is the Government of India your biggest customer?
answer: Yes, the government is our biggest customer. Our specialty is in making man-portable drones. It is so mild that a soldier can take them in the backpack and go to the field and can do ISR i.e. intelligence, surveillance and reconciliation missions. Our drones are very light and high performance. For example, the heaviest drone was also only 7 kg.
Question: You have three more co-founders. You guys have been together for about 15 years. Does things keep you together? How do you solve it when there is disagreement?
answer: I believe that our founding team is very capable. Each co-founder is a superstar in itself. So you want to work with them because you are confident that they can bring a big change in your work. The most important thing that you should see in a co-founder or partner is the desire to do something for business. There is a debate between us, but that debate is not to get its point but to take the right decision. If any team keeps the business results at the top, then the time may take a little longer, but finally you are able to do the right thing for organization. Different opinions can sometimes be in the opposite direction, but I do not consider it a burden. This is definitely the burden of time, but in a long time it saves the value.
Question: Do the Indian Army who uses most drones come from your company?
answer: Yes. Man-Portable ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconsense) for activities.
Question: Did any of your products used to be used in Operation Sindoor or an earlier operation?
answer: In the footage we saw, many representations of our technology were seen. Which also had some official visuals. Our drone was used and that too in good numbers.
Question: What is your approach to internationalization and global expansion?
answer: We have created very advanced solutions here. We feel that we have prepared such a technology stack which is also globally affected. We are confident that our solutions will be effective all over the world. When you go from India to a new country, especially in defense and drone space, you have to do three to four things. First of all- you have to take permission for export. It takes time and it is a little uncertain. But even after reaching there, you have to adjust according to localization and users. We have almost completed this cycle and we feel that the benefits of products made in India can be taken globally.
Question: What is “Sworm drone”?
answer: This means to surround the enemy with maximum number of drones so that their defense capacity is eliminated and some drones can complete your mission. Example- If you have to destroy an air defense system and you know that the enemy will drop some of your drones, but their capacity will be limited. In such a situation, you make such a big attack that some drones must escape and hit the target. This is the concept of the sworm. But in search and rescue, this technology works differently. Cover the entire area quickly, find people and then take the rest of the assets there. Meaning, this is a “collaborative autonomy”.
Question: How do you see “Raziliens capabilities”?
answer: In today’s war, their weaknesses are targeted to prevent drones. Like to jam his communication. If the ground control does not talk, then the drone will become useless. Similarly, it is also easy to jam the GPS signal. That is why resilience means strengthening means that drone can do its work by staying autonomous even in such circumstances.
Question: Tell me a little more about Operation Sindoor. Are your company products used there? How is the atmosphere after Operation Sindoor, because the emergency procurement is going on right now.
answer: When the operation vermilion started, it was necessary for us to keep a strict monitoring on the borders. So that the enemies do not infiltrate with any excuse. We also had to know what kind of targets have to be monitored. Our technology was given for this purpose from the beginning – strict monitoring along the border, security within the country and finding targets in case of need. In the official pictures and videos we found, we saw the use of our technology. After vermilion, the government has put more emphasis on the resilient capabilities in drone purchases.
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