BENGALURU: India’s indigenous Kaal Bhairava Lite unmanned combat aircraft has completed 100 cumulative hours of flight testing, marking a significant testing milestone for the Bengaluru-based defence technology programme.
Developed by Flying Wedge Defence and Aerospace, the AI-powered aircraft is designed as a Medium Altitude Long Endurance platform. The company says the aircraft can be configured for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions as well as long-range precision-strike roles.
The platform has been designed with maritime operations in mind and is being evaluated against requirements that could support ship- and shore-based deployment. The aircraft has a stated range of more than 1,000 km and an endurance of around eight to 10 hours, depending on configuration.
During its testing programme, the aircraft has been evaluated under different operating conditions, including strong winds over the Bay of Bengal. Demonstration flights have also been conducted in Jammu and Kashmir.
The company is developing a pneumatic-assisted launch system that could allow the aircraft to operate from ships and locations without conventional runways.
The Indian Navy is currently at the Request for Information stage for long-range ship- and shore-launched loitering munitions with requirements including more than 1,000 km range and extended endurance. The company plans to evaluate Kaal Bhairava Lite against these requirements.
The 100-hour flight-testing milestone provides additional test data on the aircraft’s performance, including its climb capability, cruise speed and short-field take-off and landing characteristics. The company is also looking at international opportunities for the platform.
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