Drones Over India - The Story of IdeaForge: Ankit Mehta, CEO

Is India the next hot spot for unmanned business?

Ankit Mehta is Co-founder & CEO of ideaForge, India’s largest manufacturer of drones for defense, homeland security and industrial applications. Founded in 2007, the company has a consistent market share of over 90% in the Security & Surveillance segment. It is also the first company to indigenously develop and manufacture Vertical Take-off and Landing UAVs in India. IdeaForge is the pioneer in the UAV industry in India and has multiple IPs to its credit, including the then world’s lightest autopilot in 2009.  The company has deployed over 1000 systems and has trained more than 1400 pilots in defense, public safety and security.  The company is continually innovating and experimenting to transform its aerial platforms, to offer greater performance, higher reliability and autonomy.

At ideaForge, Ankit is leading the charge to deliver cutting-edge technology that is Made-in-India and second to none.  One of those innovations is the IdeaForge SWITCH UAV, a first of its kind VTOL and fixed wing hybrid Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. SWITCH features advanced flight time, higher safety and simple operation with additional fail-safe redundancies.  It is used for long duration operations, long endurance surveillance and security, inspection and photogrammetry. It is so good, the Indian Army selected the Switch above all others earlier this year to strengthen its unmanned presence.

In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Ankit talks about IdeaForge, the Switch UAV and how the company became India’s leading drone manufacturer.