Drone manufacturer Garuda Aerospace, today, will launch their maiden solar-powered drone - Suraj, a multi-utility drone for defence and homeland security, here at Aero India.
G. Satheesh Reddy, ex-DRDO chairman and currently the scientific advisor to Satish Reddy, unveiled the drone on Monday, and it will be formally launched on Wednesday by the Karnataka Chief Minister, Basavraj Bommai at Aero India in Bengaluru.
The 1:1 prototype of Suraj will be ready to fly by August 2023, to support strategic operations of Indian Army, Navy, Airforce, BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, DRDO, MOD & MHA, Agnishwar Jayprakash, Founder and CEO, Garuda Aerospace told DH in a one-on-one.
The drone has the largest wingspan of 26 feet, with propellers run on battery and solar panels on the top, that recharge the batteries while it is in the air, thereby increasing the endurance. It has a payload capacity of 5 kilograms and is autonomous in nature. Other features of this drone technology include LIDAR-based camera sensors with 10X zoom, obstacle avoidance, radar and will essentially operate in the Beyond the Visual Line of Sight (BVLS) segment.
As of now the production cost of the prototype is about Rs 15-20 lakh, but that can be reduced when the drone production is scaled, Jayprakash revealed. Suraj is expected to take to the skies soon this year, he said.
Garuda Aerospace has been guided by members from National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in developing this drone technology.