Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Defence Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure, is in discussions with overseas players to build on its expertise in the sector.
The company, which plans to have a presence across air, land and maritime services, has been pursuing several strategic tie-ups over the past few months.
In the defence and aerospace segment, Reliance Defence is pursuing partnerships with international original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), as well as taking staks in companies within the country and abroad.
Recently, Reliance Unmanned Systems signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Augur Overseas Operation of Singapore to manufacture aerostats and airships in India.
Augur Overseas Operation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Augur Aeronautical Centre (AAC).
A natural extension of an earlier agreement between AAC and Pipavav Defence, a company acquired by Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, the deal is part of a strategic technical partnership to collaborate on new technologies.
The joint venture will be involved in the development and sales of different aerostats, airships and lighter-than-air systems.
As part of the existing arrangement, the first medium size aerostat envelope was delivered recently, after successful acceptance tests at the Pipavav facilities.
In September, Reliance Defence signed a MoU with Emirates Defence Industries Company, an integrated defence company in the UAE, to jointly explore building capabilities in defence vehicles, aviation, defence equipment and armament manufacturing.
In July, Pipavav Defence inked a deal with JSC Ship Repairing Centre Zvyozdochka, Russia, for medium refits and Life Certification of 877 EKM Submarines in India.
The indicative value of work proposed to be undertaken by the proposed joint venture is around ₹11,000 crore. The company pointed out the skills and experience developed by the joint venture will allow Pipavav Defence to undertake similar work for large submarine forces deployed by countries such as Algeria, Vietnam and Iran, with potential additional revenues of ₹20,000 crore.
Again in September, Reliance Defence signed an MoU with Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB), a provider of construction, repair and refit services for naval, military and commercial vessels.
Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, ADSB has a portfolio of construction and refit projects worth over AED 3 billion.