Paras Defence partners with Israel’s Heven Drones to manufacture advanced drones in India 

Yossi Weiss, President of Heven Drones (left) and Munjal Shah, Managing Director of Paras Defence (right)

Paras Defence and Space Technologies Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Israel-based Heven Drones Ltd. yesterday to establish a joint venture for manufacturing logistics and cargo drones in India.

The 51-49 partnership, with Paras holding the majority stake, aims to bring Heven Drones’ portfolio of advanced drone technologies to India under the Make-in-India initiative. The joint venture, to be named “Paras Heven Drones India,” will focus on developing and producing logistics drones with payload capacities ranging from 10kg to 40kg for both defence and civilian applications.

The joint venture plans an initial investment of approximately $1 million for infrastructure and test equipment. The companies intend to manufacture substantial content in India to comply with Make-in-India requirements while importing critical components from Israel. This local manufacturing is expected to make the products at least 20 per cent more cost-effective compared to manufacturing in Israel. 

Both executives emphasised the growing market opportunity, with the Indian market for logistics drones for defence and civilian applications projected to exceed $1 billion. The joint venture aims to become India’s leading company in this sector by offering advanced technology at competitive prices. 

The average price for an electrically powered logistics drone is approximately ₹50 lakhs, with prices varying based on payload capacity and additional features. The joint venture aims to sell several hundred units annually in the coming years. 

“We believe that we could be able to be in business in the next couple of quarters,” said Munjal Shah, Managing Director of Paras Defence, during the press conference following the signing ceremony. “We are very hopeful that in the next financial year onwards we could be able to reach our goal of selling in hundreds each year.”

A key differentiator of the joint venture will be Heven Drones’ hydrogen-powered drone technology, which offers significantly longer flight endurance compared to conventional battery-powered drones. According to Yossi Weiss, President of Heven Drones, their hydrogen-propelled drones can carry 5kg payloads for up to 2.5 hours, with larger models under development capable of carrying 23kg for 12 hours.

“Heven is the biggest, one of the biggest companies in Israel that uses drones,” said Weiss, who previously served as president and CEO of Israeli aerospace industry. “Our product will be for all applications, it could be for civilian and also it will be for defence applications.”

“The infrastructure, the production lines in Paras and the production lines in Heven drones as well are capable of supplying tens of units per month,” noted Weiss, adding that their drones are already combat-proven in military operations.

Beyond serving the Indian market, the joint venture also plans to export its products globally. The partnership builds on Paras Defence’s previous experience with Israeli companies, with Weiss citing the company’s “flexibility” and “quick decision-making process” as factors in selecting Paras as their Indian partner.

Published on May 6, 2025