Mirai Aerospace Moves to Localise LiDAR Manufacturing in India Under GreenValley Partnership

India’s domestic geospatial and drone technology sector is set to gain a new manufacturing capability as Mirai Aerospace Systems and Software Solutions partners with US-headquartered GreenValley International to assemble and progressively manufacture advanced LiDAR systems in the country. The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding covering local assembly, manufacturing, calibration, technical support and the development of artificial intelligence-based LiDAR applications for the Indian market.

Signed on the sidelines of INTERGEO 2026 in Munich, the agreement expands an existing distribution relationship between Mirai Aerospace and GreenValley into a deeper industrial partnership. Mirai will provide the infrastructure, workforce and operational support required for production and certification in India, while GreenValley will supply technical documentation, assembly kits and quality standards. The companies plan to begin with local assembly and increase localisation as demand and production volumes grow.

The partnership comes as LiDAR is becoming an increasingly important component of India’s drone, surveying and geospatial industries. Airborne LiDAR systems can rapidly generate detailed three-dimensional information about terrain and infrastructure, making them valuable for mapping, railways, power networks, mining, forestry, construction, urban planning and defence. Bringing assembly, calibration and technical support into India would give domestic operators access to more of this capability without relying entirely on overseas facilities.

Local Manufacturing and Calibration Capability in India

Mirai Aerospace will lead the Indian manufacturing effort and establish the infrastructure required to assemble GreenValley systems locally. The initial phase will rely on GreenValley’s technical documentation, assembly kits and established quality procedures, but the companies intend to increase the Indian content of the systems as the domestic market develops. The arrangement therefore begins with assembly rather than claiming immediate complete indigenisation of LiDAR hardware.

A dedicated service and calibration centre is also planned in India. Mirai will operate the facility according to GreenValley’s standards, providing Indian customers with local maintenance, calibration and technical assistance. This could be particularly useful for operators working on large surveying, infrastructure, mining, government and defence projects, where sending specialised equipment abroad for servicing can increase both cost and downtime.

Calibration is a fundamental part of professional LiDAR operations because the accuracy of the resulting three-dimensional information depends on the precise relationship between the laser scanner, positioning equipment and other sensors. Establishing that capability in India alongside assembly and technical support would therefore create a more complete domestic support base than simply importing finished LiDAR units for sale.

Why LiDAR Has Become Important for India’s Drone Industry

LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, measures distance by transmitting laser pulses towards a surface and analysing the returning signal. An airborne system can make an enormous number of these measurements while moving over an area, producing a dense collection of spatial coordinates known as a point cloud. Software can then convert this data into detailed three-dimensional representations of terrain, buildings, vegetation, roads, railway corridors, utility infrastructure and other physical features.

When mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle, LiDAR allows surveyors to collect large quantities of accurate three-dimensional information much faster than would be possible through conventional ground surveys. UAV-LiDAR has consequently become useful for topographical mapping, highway and railway projects, power-line inspection, mining, forestry, construction monitoring and infrastructure planning.

The payload is particularly valuable when a project requires elevation and structural information rather than conventional aerial photographs alone. Optical cameras record the visual appearance of the ground, while LiDAR directly measures spatial distances and geometry. Combining both types of information can provide surveyors and engineers with a much richer representation of an area.

India’s drone manufacturing push has so far drawn considerable attention to indigenous airframes, propulsion, flight controllers and communications systems. Professional drones, however, derive much of their actual utility from the payloads they carry. Building a domestic ecosystem for technologies such as LiDAR would allow Indian companies to capture a larger part of the value associated with UAV surveying and geospatial intelligence instead of concentrating primarily on the aircraft itself.

Partnership Extends Into AI and Point-Cloud Processing

The Mirai-GreenValley agreement is not limited to manufacturing LiDAR hardware. The companies also plan to work together on artificial intelligence-based point-cloud processing, automated feature extraction and digital-twin applications using GreenValley’s LiDAR360 and LiDAR360 MLS software platforms.

A large LiDAR survey can generate millions or billions of individual measurement points, creating datasets that require extensive processing before they become useful to engineers or planners. AI-based tools can assist in classifying these points and identifying features such as buildings, roads, vegetation, utility lines and terrain. Automated feature extraction can then convert the processed information into usable engineering, surveying and planning data.

This software layer is increasingly important because the commercial value of LiDAR does not end with collecting a point cloud. The real value emerges when raw measurements are transformed into information that can be used to design infrastructure, monitor assets, calculate volumes, examine terrain or identify changes over time. By combining local hardware capability with processing software and application development, Mirai is seeking a position across a broader portion of the geospatial workflow.

Digital Twins Open Another Market for LiDAR

Digital twins are another area identified for development under the partnership. A digital twin uses digital data to create a detailed representation of a physical object, asset or environment. LiDAR can provide much of the three-dimensional spatial information needed to build such models accurately.

A railway corridor, highway, industrial complex, mine, electricity network or urban district can be scanned and reconstructed digitally, allowing engineers to examine the asset without depending solely on drawings or conventional imagery. Additional information can then be integrated into the model, while repeat surveys can show how the physical environment has changed.

For infrastructure operators, such models can support inspection, maintenance and asset management. Government agencies can use three-dimensional datasets for urban planning, transportation, utilities and smart-city programmes, while mining and construction companies can monitor changes to terrain and structures over time. The combination of drones, LiDAR and digital-twin software consequently opens a much wider market than aerial surveying alone.

Defence Among the Markets Being Targeted

Defence is among the sectors Mirai Aerospace has identified for its expanding LiDAR and geospatial capabilities, although the GreenValley agreement itself is not exclusively a military programme. The companies are also targeting surveying, railways, utilities, mining, infrastructure and government applications.

For defence users, accurate three-dimensional terrain data can support mapping, infrastructure assessment, mission planning and situational awareness. LiDAR can also serve as a perception sensor on unmanned and autonomous platforms where the vehicle needs detailed information about surrounding terrain or obstacles.

The wider commercial market is equally important for establishing a viable Indian manufacturing base. A production line supported by demand from infrastructure, mining, railways, utilities and government surveying can achieve volumes that may be difficult to sustain through defence procurement alone. The same underlying sensing and processing technologies can then serve both civilian and strategic applications.

Mirai Expanding Its UAV Geospatial Ecosystem

Mirai Aerospace already works with UAV LiDAR, mobile LiDAR, SLAM mapping, three-dimensional point clouds and related geospatial technologies. It has previously demonstrated GreenValley systems in India for applications including city-road mapping and infrastructure surveying, giving the two companies an existing commercial relationship on which the manufacturing partnership can build.

Mirai has also entered into a strategic collaboration with Aerosys Aviation India covering the integration of Mirai payloads and software with Aerosys UAV platforms. The companies plan to jointly demonstrate, market, deploy and support these systems, creating another route through which LiDAR and other geospatial payloads could be paired with Indian unmanned aircraft.

The GreenValley agreement now adds a manufacturing dimension to that strategy. Instead of operating only as an integrator and distributor of geospatial equipment, Mirai is seeking to develop domestic capability in assembly, calibration, servicing and application development.

Pilot Projects to Build an Indian Market

Mirai and GreenValley plan to conduct pilot projects across surveying, mapping, mining and infrastructure to develop LiDAR applications suited to Indian operating requirements. Product demonstrations and roadshows are also planned, along with engagement with government departments involved in surveying, urban planning, transportation, forestry, agriculture and smart-city programmes.

These projects should give the companies an opportunity to establish demand before committing to larger manufacturing volumes. They can also help identify where imported systems or workflows need to be modified for Indian terrain, operating conditions and customer requirements.

The commercial strategy therefore combines manufacturing with application development. Local assembly alone would have limited value without customers capable of deploying the technology effectively, while software, training, calibration and technical support can make LiDAR systems easier to adopt across industries that may not currently possess extensive in-house expertise.

Moving Beyond Drone Assembly to Indigenous Payload Capability

India’s drone industry is entering a stage where the origin of the aircraft alone is no longer an adequate measure of technological self-reliance. Sensors, navigation equipment, communications systems, cameras, radar and specialised payloads account for much of the capability and value of a modern unmanned platform. A domestically manufactured drone that remains heavily dependent on imported high-value payloads still leaves a substantial part of its technology chain outside the country.

The Mirai-GreenValley partnership addresses one part of this gap by attempting to establish LiDAR assembly and support in India while simultaneously developing local capability in calibration, point-cloud processing and application software. Its eventual significance will depend on how far the programme progresses from assembly into component localisation and manufacturing after the definitive agreements are signed.

For India’s UAV and geospatial industries, the direction is nevertheless clear. As domestic drone production expands, the next industrial opportunity lies in producing more of the sophisticated equipment carried aboard those aircraft. LiDAR is one such technology, and Mirai’s partnership with GreenValley is an attempt to bring a larger share of that value chain into India.

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REFERENCES

1. TimesTech, “Mirai Aerospace signs MoU with GreenValley International to build LiDAR ecosystem in India,” published 17 September 2026.
   https://timestech.in/mirai-aerospace-signs-mou-with-greenvalley-international-to-build-lidar-ecosystem-in-india/
2. ET Manufacturing, “Mirai Aerospace, GreenValley International collaborate to build LiDAR manufacturing ecosystem in India,” published 16 September 2026.
   https://manufacturing.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/mirai-aerospace-greenvalley-international-collaborate-to-build-lidar-manufacturing-ecosystem-in-india/134289495
3. Industrial Products Finder, “Mirai Aerospace, GreenValley Sign MoU for LiDAR Manufacturing in India,” published 17 September 2026.
   https://www.ipfonline.com/news/detail/aerospacedefence/mirai-aerospace-greenvalley-sign-mou-for-lidar-manufacturing-in-india/19225
4. Mirai Aerospace — Official Website. Company information covering UAV LiDAR, geospatial intelligence, 3D mapping, point-cloud processing and related technologies.
   https://www.miraiaerospace.com/
5. GreenValley International — Official Website. LiDAR hardware, LiDAR360 software and 3D geospatial technology information.
   https://www.greenvalleyintl.com/

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