Bharat Forge partners FLYING WHALES for heavy-lift airship manufacturing in India

Bharat Forge Ltd. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with French-Canadian airship developer FLYING WHALES to jointly develop and manufacture heavy-lift airships for India's defence and strategic missions, according to the company's exchange filing on Wednesday, July 22.

The agreement, signed at the Farnborough International Airshow 2026, aims to establish manufacturing, integration and production capabilities for heavy-lift airships in India under the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives, the company said.

The collaboration will centre on FLYING WHALES' LCA60T platform, a next-generation heavy-lift airship capable of transporting up to 60 tonnes of cargo. According to the filing, the platform features vertical take-off and landing capability, hybrid-electric propulsion and requires minimal ground infrastructure, enabling operations in remote and challenging terrain.

Bharat Forge said the companies will explore defence applications including logistics support for forward operating bases, transportation of oversized military equipment and critical supplies, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), communication relay systems, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, and rapid deployment in border regions.

The company said the partnership is intended to help build an indigenous heavy-lift airship ecosystem and localise manufacturing of advanced aerospace platforms in India. The proposed localisation programme is expected to generate high-technology employment, strengthen the domestic aerospace supply chain and create export opportunities, according to the filing.

"Airships will redefine how nations move, supply and sustain their forces," Bharat Forge Vice Chairman and Joint Managing Director Amit Kalyani said in the filing. He added that the collaboration would help create sovereign capabilities in a strategically important aerospace segment.

Tanguy Lestienne, Chief Executive Officer, FLYING WHALES SERVICES, said the partnership would combine the French-Canadian company's airship technology with Bharat Forge's engineering and defence manufacturing capabilities to build airships in India for domestic and global markets.

The airship partnership comes as Bharat Forge continues to expand its presence in the defence and advanced manufacturing sectors.

Last month, Chairman and Managing Director Baba Kalyani said the company sees significant opportunities in defence manufacturing

, semiconductor equipment supply chains and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven industrial demand as India strengthens its position as a global manufacturing hub. He had said the defence sector is poised for strong growth over the next five to seven years, driven by a shift from supplying components to designing and manufacturing complete defence platforms in India.