Bengaluru startup announces India’s first indigenous, MALE autonomous combat aircraft

Bengaluru: Flying Wedge Defence and Aerospace (FWDA), AI warfare and autonomous combat aircraft company, announced on Friday India's first indigenous, export-ready Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) autonomous combat aircraft.

At the launch event held here, Suhas Tejaskanda, Founder & CEO of FWDA said with shifting global policies and tightened US regulations, India cannot afford digital dependency during wartime.

“Dependence on foreign systems could limit India’s strategic autonomy, as sensitive operational data may be routed through external networks and remain accessible to overseas agencies,” he added.

Inspired by Kaala Bhairav, the eternal guardian of time, the platform is designed, developed and manufactured entirely in India, added a press note.

The aircraft is engineered to deliver an endurance of up to 30 hours and a range of 3,000 km, according to Tejaskanda.

At the event, after the video screening of the test flight, the company announced that the platform has secured a landmark export order from a South Asian nation of USD 25 million as a part of a USD 30 million total strategic deal.

“This development showcases the world’s growing reliance on Indian innovation to secure their skies and positions India as a leading defence innovator and trusted supplier of advanced AI warfare platforms,” said Tejaskanda.

According to him, for decades, India has relied on foreign systems like Predator and Israeli Searcher models, but at a high strategic cost, from embedded kill-switch vulnerabilities to critical flight data routed through external servers.

He said 10 Kaala Bhairavs can match the reconnaissance power of a single Predator at a fraction of the cost.

“While losing a Predator can cost up to Rs 1,000 crore, the same investment can field an entire Kaala Bhairav fleet, ensuring no single loss cripples mission capabilities,” added Tejaskanda.