Mahindra Group Ties-Up With Israel's Sentrycs For Anti-Drone Systems

The Mahindra Group and Israel-based Sentrycs Ltd. on Friday announced a tie-up for developing anti-drone solutions in India for civilian and military applications. The companies signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding that will focus on the transfer of technology and manufacturing of radio frequency-based counter-drone solutions under the 'Make in India' initiative, a statement said.

The differentiated anti-drone solution is an autonomous and integrated system with a command and control module, and enables detection, tracking, identification and mitigation of incoming drones.

In addition, the system can monitor drone flight paths, identify their specific models, unique serial numbers, and their IDs, which allows for precise differentiation between friendly and hostile drones.

India has been ramping up its anti-drone programme to deal with potential threats from unmanned aerial weapon systems. Anti-drone technologies have drawn global attention since the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Hamas conflict, where inexpensive drones were deployed to target and inflict damage on the opponent's civilian and military infrastructure.

Israel has made major advancements in development of anti-drone systems as it faces off threats from non-state actors like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. India has close military ties with Tel Aviv and domestic state-run as well as private companies have announced collaboration on several joint projects.

Mahindra said the anti-drone system can be deployed for protection of critical infrastructure in urban areas or as an integral part of a broader multi-layered ‘anti-drone solutions' for military applications.

"The exponential growth in the use of drones for military purposes, as witnessed in recent conflicts, calls for appropriate technological solutions that can mitigate the risks posed by these drones, when used by hostile forces," Sentrycs Chief Executive Officer Yoav Zaltzman said.

Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra rose 2% before paring some gains to trade 1.9% higher at Rs 2,810.9 by 11:50 a.m., compared to a 0.26% advance in the NSE Nifty 50.

The stock has risen 78% in the last 12 months and 70% year-to-date. The relative strength index was at 54.

Thirty-five out of 41 analysts tracking Mahindra & Mahindra have a 'buy' rating on the stock, five recommend a 'hold' and one suggests a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analysts' price targets implies a potential upside of 14.7%.