Rahul Verma
Rahul Verma is a professional with experience in aviation, unmanned systems, innovation management, and business development. He is currently working as Associate Vice President at Bharat Forge Ltd, focusing on stakeholder management, business development, andtechnologyintegration related to Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) and High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). He also supports emerging technology identification and prioritisation to advance force modernisation.
Before this, he served as Deputy General Manager at Tata Advanced Systems Limited from 2023 to 2025. In this role, he worked on technology vision and innovation strategy for defence-based unmanned andautonomous systems.
He coordinated market studies, managed patents and intellectual property-related activities, developed product and financial forecasts, built business cases, supported RFP/RFQ/RFI responses, and led integration projects involving sensors, payloads, and platforms. He also acted as Programme Manager for an indigenous High Altitude Long Endurance UAV project.
Rahul served in the Indian Navy for over 21 years. His roles included Director Innovation for Aviation and Unmanned Systems, Commanding Officer, and Joint Director for Air Warfare and Remotely Piloted Aircraft. As Director Innovation, he led the Technology Development Acceleration Cell responsible for identifying emerging technology of military relevance and supporting indigenous development under the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO). He is a qualified Naval Aviator, Night Deck Pilot, Instructor, Accident Investigator, and RPA Subject Matter Expert.
Rahul has completed multiple academic qualifications, including an Executive MBA jointly from IIT Bombay and Washington University in St. Louis, an MA in Aviation Law from NALSAR University, and product management and innovation certifications from institutions such as Harvard Business School Online, UNITAR, INSEAD, and ISB. He is certified in PRINCE2, MSP, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and Disciplined Agile Scrum Master.
He has published articles on unmanned systems, aviation policy, safety management, and technology topics in several platforms and defence-related publications. His professional interests include unmanned aviation, flight safety, innovation ecosystems, product strategy, and defence capability development.
