Hon’ble VP of India, C. P. Radhakrishnan, Unveils the Elephant Monitoring Drone Designed by Garuda Aerospace

The Hon’ble Vice President of India, C.P. Radhakrishnan, has unveiled the drone designed specifically for Drone Aided Elephant Darting by Garuda Aerospace, marking a significant achievement in the use of ‘Made in India’ drone technology in the field of wildlife conservation and human-wildlife conflict resolution situations. The drone unveiling ceremony was held in the esteemed presence of the Hon’ble Governor of Kerala, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, and the Hon’ble Union Minister, Suresh Gopi.

The custom-designed drone has been designed to assist the process of elephant darting by facilitating aerial-assisted tranquilization with improved accuracy. This not only reduces the risks to forest personnel on the ground but also minimizes interference with the elephants during critical situations.

This drone was first designed by Garuda Aerospace for the Tamil Nadu Forest Department almost a decade ago. Since then, there has been continuous improvement to this technology by incremental innovation to suit the needs of the Forest Department. The latest version of this specially designed drone is the culmination of this continuous process of improvement and upgrade to suit the needs of the Forest Department.

Garuda Aerospace has previously provided several drones to prominent conservation organizations like the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and several Forest Departments across India.

On this occasion, Agnishwar Jayaprakash, the Founder & Director at Garuda Aerospace, said, “Ten years ago, the first drone we designed was for the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. As the Hon’ble Vice President launched this upgraded, customized version of a drone for drone-assisted elephant darting, we find it extremely fulfilling. We have been a company that believes in incremental innovation, enhancing our capabilities to serve the cause of wildlife conservation responsibly. We remain committed to developing indigenous solutions to protect wildlife as well as the community.”

In the face of increasing human-elephant conflicts, the Indian government continues to seek solutions to this problem. Drone-assisted elephant darting provides a more effective, efficient, and humane solution to this problem. It is a testament to Garuda Aerospace’s dedication to using drones for a cause, to serve the nation, to serve the community, and to serve the greater good across industries like wildlife conservation, disaster management, agri-industries, and the military.