Berlin, Germany, 21 January 2025 – As the Eurodrone development progresses steadily, interest in the Programme continues to grow in Europe and around the world.
Following the Government of Japan (GoJ) becoming an OCCAR Observer State in the MALE RPAS (Eurodrone) Programme in November 2023, the Government of India (GoI) officially requested on 27 August 2024, to also be granted Observer Status in the OCCAR-managed MALE RPAS (Eurodrone) Programme.
On behalf of the OCCAR Board of Supervisors (BoS), OCCAR-EA Director, Joachim Sucker, delivered the Letter of Approval (LoA) signed by the now former Chairman of the OCCAR Board of Supervisors (BoS), Lt Gen Frédéric Goetynck, to the Ambassador of India to Germany, His Excellency, Mr Ajit Gupte at the Indian Embassy in Berlin.
*The Chairmanship of the BoS was officially handed over officially on a yearly rotational basis, amongst the six OCCAR Member States, from Belgium to Spain in December 2024.
Mr Sucker expressed the BoS’s appreciation and positive support for the GoI´s interest in OCCAR and highlighted that the BoS has taken note of India’s willingness to explore opportunities to develop subjects of common interest and its recognition of the importance of cooperation between India and Europe.
The OCCAR-EA Director congratulated the Government of India (GoI) on committing to commence this special relationship and expressed his hope that this first step will lead to a long, fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation.
The Eurodrone is an unmanned system, designed to carry-out long endurance Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions developed by Airbus Defence & Space GmbH (prime contractor), Leonardo Spa, Dassault Aviation and Airbus Defence & Space SAU for Germany, France, Italy and Spain as well as other interested nations.
For more information on the OCCAR MALE RPAS (Eurodrone) Programme read here:
OCCAR - MALE RPAS - MEDIUM ALTITUDE LONG ENDURANCE REMOTELY PILOTED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM