India bans the use of Chinese parts in military drones

The Indian government, in recent months, has barred domestic manufacturers of military drones from using components made in China.

Reuters reported on this.

The ban comes upon an analysis of the use of Chinese components, which the government claims could be vulnerable to interference by Chinese intelligence agencies.

Due to tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations, the Indian government is seeking a total ban on Chinese components usage in military products produced by the country.

The use of Chinese components could undermine India’s national security by collecting intelligence from these components.

In 2020, the country issued a ban on ordering products that use parts from countries that share a land border with India, including China.

Since 2017, the Indian government has been implementing the Make in India program. It aims to support companies that want to work in the defense industry.

In addition, the country seeks to develop the localization of foreign arms production, which is also entrusted to the newly formed defense companies.

Militarnyi previously reported that the Indian Air Force will receive the first Airbus C295 military transport aircraft in September.

In October 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for a manufacturing facility that the Tata-Airbus consortium is building in Vadodara, India. The C295 will be the first military aircraft manufactured in India by a private consortium.

In addition, the French company Safran and the Indian HAL are creating a joint venture to produce helicopter engines.

The new enterprise will be located in the Indian city of Bangalore. It will specialize in the development and license production of helicopter engines for Asian customers of Airbus helicopters.

The HE-MRO joint venture will help India implement a number of projects where Safran engines can be used.