Dar es Salaam: In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on April 13, IdeaForge, Zen Technologies Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and other Indian firms took part in the Mini Defexpo.

Vishal, IdeaForge’s Lead Business Development, told ANI that his business has come to take part in the defence exhibition with two major products: Switch and Netra. According to him, IdeaForge’s platforms have over 50 patents and have performed approximately 650,000 missions.

“You know, we’ve come here to Tanzania with our two flagship products, which are Switch and Netra,” Vishal stated in reference to his involvement in Mini Defexpo. The armed forces and paramilitary forces have both used these technologies rather extensively. In addition, there are other civilian applications for these platforms, such as the honourable prime minister’s signature initiative, the Swamitva Yojana. Our platforms have already performed over 650,000 missions as a firm. We have around fifty patents.

In terms of dual-purpose UAVs, we are rated third in the world. In addition to speaking with numerous dignitaries from Tanzania’s military, we informed the honourable minister that we wanted to use UAV technology to present a plan for Tanzania’s transformation because we observe how people are developing digital content globally. There is a lot of work going on in India, from the distribution of property automobiles to the inspection of transmission lines, digital twins, and military use cases. With our technology, we can change a nation like Tanzania,” he said.

On April 13, the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Defence Production, and the Federation of Indian Chambers & Commerce Industry (FICCI) collaborated to organise the Indian Mini Defexpo and Industry interaction in Tanzania.

According to K. Ramesh, General Manager, Helicopter MRO Division, his organisation attended the Mini Defence Expo with 22 other Indian firms. People have shown interest in learning more about marine role machines, he said.

“We have come here to participate in the Mini Defence Expo,” he said. We also hosted an Indian naval display here at the third Mini Defexpo. As a result, this software is quite overwhelming. As a result, we took part in the 22 Indian enterprises that were visiting, as well as a number of other Tanzanian military personnel. The Air Force and Army were particularly interested.

We have a full range of goods, including the fixed wing, which has LCA, and the Mar-3 MR helicopters, which are employed in the Indian Navy for marine duties. For the offshore shoreline activities, we have a Dornier. We have more surveillance activities for the Dornier. As a result, the components that have been positioned here come in a wide variety. We have provided the Indian military, including our air force and army, with a three-tonne class helicopter known as the LUH, which can fly kilometres above the ground, and an LCH, also known as a Prachand.”

“People came because they wanted to learn more about the role machines played in marine operations. We have thus informed them that we have both Dornier and Mark 3 MR Navy helicopters, which have also been used by the Coast Guard. They may use it for marital reconnaissance, which is quite beneficial to them. Thus, they expressed great interest and promised to get back to us,” he said.

The primary product of Zen Technologies Limited, according to Captain Sanjay Kumar, General Manager of Exports, is simulators for military training. He also discussed some of Zen Technologies Limited’s other products, such as the anti-drone system.

“Zen Technologies Limited is a leading defence manufacturer in the nation; we create simulations,” he said. Our primary offering consists of military training simulators. The simulators include both live simulation and virtual simulators. We manufacture live fire ranges as well. Their nature is really rough, and they are containerised. Some of our other items include the anti-drone system, which is one of our operational products. One of the greatest anti-drone systems ever used by the Indian Armed Forces and throughout the world is this one.

It features a variety of sensors, including a camera, radar, and an RF detector, all of which are combined to provide a single operating image. Additionally, we may use both the soft kill and hard kill methods to eliminate the drones. Therefore, we have a variety of hard kill techniques to disable the anti-drone systems. In addition, we have remote control weapon systems, optical sensors, and a few thermal cameras. Thus, in terms of technology, this is the whole line of items,” he said.

The defence exhibition was opened by Tanzanian Defence Minister Stergomena Lawrence Tax and Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth.

“Historic moment in defence cooperation between India and Tanzania!” said Sanjay Seth in a post on X. The third edition of “Defence Expo” was launched today with Tanzania’s defence minister, Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax. I had the chance to tour a number of defence-related booths during Defence Expo.

“This Defence Expo is being attended by 22 Indian firms in total. It demonstrated India’s advanced manufacturing capabilities, high-level technology, and independence in defence manufacture. India’s expanding military capabilities would be shown on a global scale at this exhibition,” he said.