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In a boost to the ‘Make in India’ initiative, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has announced a strategic partnership with an Indian start-up company that develops next generation computer chips, integrated circuits and other semiconductor technologies.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) is delighted to announce a strategic partnership with 3rdiTech, said Dr Vivek Lall, chief executive of General Atomics Global Corporation.

Semiconductors are going to be the defining technology of this era. The team and capability being developed at 3rdiTech are representative of the new India under Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s leadership, he said on Tuesday.

Lall said GA-ASI will work with 3rdiTech, one of the inaugural winners of the Indian Ministry of Defence’s flagship iDEX Programme, to transition this cutting-edge capability onto some of India’s platforms.

General Atomics is committed to supporting Prime Minister Modi’s vision of an Atmanirbhar India, and partnerships like these are a big step in the right direction, Lall said.

In the spirit of increasing technology cooperation between India and the US, the companies will now work to co-develop state-of-the-art products for the Indian and global market, said the media release.

GA-ASI has been working closely with the team at 3rdiTech since 2021. This announcement comes as the two companies are beginning to co-design and co-develop products.

This represents a large shift from today’s landscape that is dominated by Technology Transfer from the US to Indian companies, the media release said, adding that GA-ASI’s collaboration with 3rdiTech paves the way for products designed and developed in India to make it to the global supply chain.

In April, the US Trade Representative said in a report that initiatives such as “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” seek to increase India’s self-sufficiency by promoting domestic industry and reducing reliance on imported goods, observing that American exporters encounter “significant” tariff and non-tariff barriers in the country.

GA-ASI, an affiliate of General Atomics, is the world leader in unmanned aerial systems. They invent and pioneer modern solutions for military, security, governance, environmental operations and more. They support customers with the greatest medium-altitude and small unmanned aircraft systems, and cutting-edge mission payload and exploitation technologies, according to the information on its website.