“Portugal represents a natural gateway for bringing Indian engineering into Europe. The combination of industrial capability, AI expertise and research partnerships gives us the opportunity to build a much broader aerospace technology footprint in Portugal.” Suhas Tejaskanda, CEO of Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace
“This agreement transforms a relationship of trust into a factory. Portugal will now produce, in a partnership that combines Portuguese and Indian engineering and know-how, systems that will be sold worldwide.” Miguel Abreu, CEO of SketchPixel and Director of KEYDEF
Strengthening India-Portugal cooperation in defence and aerospace, Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace (FWDA), an Indian AI warfare company in partnership with KEYDEF, the defense and aerospace division of the Portuguese company SKETCHPIXEL LDA, formally sign an industrial partnership agreement to manufacture its Kaal Bhairava autonomous UAV and YAMA Interceptor in Portugal for international markets.
The agreement was signed at KEYDEF facilities in Braga, in the presence of India’s Ambassador to Portugal, Puneet Roy Kundal and Angola’s Consul-General in Porto Dulce Gomes. The project includes initial investment from KEYDEF of 6 Million Euros in Flying Wedge Defence made in India technologies.
Speaking at the signing, Suhas Tejaskanda, CEO of Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace, said, “Portugal represents a natural gateway for bringing Indian engineering into Europe. The combination of industrial capability, AI expertise and research partnerships gives us the opportunity to build a much broader aerospace technology footprint in Portugal.”
Under the agreement, the production in Portugal will encompass FWDA’s entire portfolio, including surveillance systems, air defence, and civilian applications such as precision agriculture and Sketchpixel/Keydef will be responsible for developing some of the electronic components and artificial intelligence (AI) for the devices. The companies’ stated objective is to obtain NATO certification for all systems produced in Portugal, in order to open doors for commercialization in NATO countries.
Speaking on the India-Portugal developing partnership, Miguel Abreu, CEO of SketchPixel and Director of KEYDEF, said, “This agreement transforms a relationship of trust into a factory. Portugal will now produce, in a partnership that combines Portuguese and Indian engineering and know-how, systems that will be sold worldwide.”
Alongside the manufacturing agreement, FWDA in partnership with KEYDEF/SketchPixel, a European technology company known for building advanced fighter jet simulation systems for aircraft such as the F-16 has collaborated with the University of Minho on the development of a long-duration uncrewed aircraft capable of achieving 100 hours of autonomy.
The project is intended to advance the development of persistent, unmanned flight capabilities, with research spanning aircraft design, materials and autonomous systems. The development comes days after KaalBhairav Lite crossed 100 cumulative hours of flight testing.
The collaboration is expected to create a wider technology base around FWDA’s planned Portuguese manufacturing operations, bringing together aerospace manufacturing, advanced materials, engineering, simulation, artificial intelligence and research and development.
A joint laboratory is planned at Fábrica do Arquinho from 2028, providing a longer-term framework for continued collaboration between industry and academia.
The Portugal manufacturing facility is yet to receive a final location. KEYDEF is currently evaluating proposals from different municipalities based on infrastructure, land availability, fiscal incentives and access to skilled talent.
