VEDA Aeronautics and METRAVIB Defence have established a strategic agreement to jointly develop and indigenize an advanced acoustic gunshot and drone detection system for the Indian Armed Forces, marking a landmark Indo-French defense collaboration.
The program, which is part of the “Make in India” framework, is to improve the survivability and situational awareness of the nation’s armored fleet, which includes future armored platforms, light tanks, and Main Battle Tanks (MBTs).
The collaboration expands on METRAVIB’s demonstrated proficiency in acoustic localization technologies, which are utilized worldwide by European and NATO troops. The system uses a complex array of digital signal processors and acoustic sensors to quickly identify, categorize, and locate gunfire or drone sounds.
Once a threat has been recognized, the system sends accurate threat coordinates to onboard battle management systems, allowing the crew of the vehicle or automated defense subsystems to respond quickly.
As part of this partnership, VEDA Aeronautics will be in charge of the system’s local production, adaptation, and integration to meet Indian operational and environmental requirements.
Through domestic testing and calibration, factors including tropical heat, desert dust, high-altitude operations, and the dynamic noise profiles of Indian battlefields are being addressed. Even in challenging acoustic conditions, the program seeks to guarantee high reliability and few false alarms.
For armored units, the system will offer a complete 360-degree defensive awareness capacity that can simultaneously detect several threats, such as hostile drones, sniper activity, and small weapons fire. Its sophisticated threat cueing reduces reaction times from seconds to fractions of a second by seamlessly connecting to the vehicle’s electronic countermeasures, smoke dischargers, and remote weapon station.
This technology is a crucial part of networked warfare capacity for the Indian Army’s modernization efforts. Their combat readiness in hybrid warfare scenarios will be greatly increased by integration on updated MBTs like the Arjun MK-1A and future light tank platforms like the Zorawar.
Additionally, the drone localization function of the acoustic detection system is in line with India’s pressing need to combat low, slow, and small (LSS) aerial threats across its northern and western borders.
The relationship also highlights the increasing importance of industrial alliances between well-known foreign OEMs and Indian defense start-ups. In addition to meeting domestic operational needs, VEDA Aeronautics and METRAVIB hope to create a scalable export product that will satisfy the demands of friendly foreign forces by localizing production.
With this agreement, India advances its independence in sensor-based defense technologies.
The collaborative project promises a strong surveillance and protection layer for the nation’s armored formations on the contemporary battlefield by combining French acoustic warfare knowledge with Indian innovation and manufacturing capacity.
