Maiden flight of Ajeet Mini, as its name suggests took place in the NCR during the Bharat Drone Shakti event at Hindon Airbase, Ghaziabad, in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh.
This Micro drone, the only one available off the shelf in India, was introduced to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the Bharat Drone Mahotsav on May 27, 2022, at Pragati Maidan.
This small yet impressive Indian-made drone is rapidly gaining popularity among Army units. It stands out as an ‘AatmaNirbhar’ drone, serving as a direct replacement for the well-known Chinese DJI drones in terms of performance and price, which had been in use by these units for the past 4-5 years due to the absence of a reliable Indian alternative.
Venkatesh Sai, Founder and Technical Director of ZUPPA Geo Navigation Technologies, the developer behind Ajeet Mini, spoke at the event. He emphasized that their ability to create this world-class product was made possible by their proprietary DPCC computing architecture and their complete control over every aspect of the technology, from PCB design to manufacturing, including all algorithms at the firmware and software levels of the product.
ZUPPA is unique in India for providing exceptional user experiences, such as fully autonomous waypoint navigation with high precision positional accuracy and unwavering reliability for every flight. This is achieved through their proprietary Made in India Autopilot/flight controller for drones, known as NAVGATI.
Many DRDO establishments and drone manufacturers are now opting for NavGati over open-source autopilots like Pixhawk. This shift is driven by NavGati’s ability to enhance security, integrity, and reliability in unmanned applications. Customers utilizing Zuppa’s plug-and-fly autopilot solutions experience lower integration and technical support costs, which are often unavoidable when using open-source systems.
The demonstrations of Ajeet Mini at the Bharat Drone Shakti event were a notable highlight, showcasing the drone’s capabilities and marking a significant step forward in India’s drone technology journey.