Flying Wedge’s Indigenous Kaala Bhairav Lite Completes 100 Hours of Flight Testing

Bengaluru-based Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace has completed 100 hours of flight testing of its Kaala Bhairav Lite, marking a significant development milestone for the company’s indigenous autonomous aircraft programme.

The latest programme update indicates that the aircraft has accumulated its 100 flight hours across different operating conditions while validating take-off, climb, cruise, autonomous flight and landing performance. The company has placed the indigenous content of the platform at approximately 85%.

Tested in Wind Gusts Up to 30 Knots

The Kaala Bhairav Lite has undergone flight testing in wind gusts reaching 30 knots, allowing its flight-control and autonomous systems to be evaluated under challenging atmospheric conditions.

During the flight programme, the aircraft demonstrated a reported climb rate of 7–8 metres per second and a cruise speed of approximately 100–120 km/h. The testing has also demonstrated its ability to take off and land within a distance of less than 120 metres.

The short take-off and landing performance gives the aircraft greater flexibility in operating from relatively small airstrips and locations where conventional runway infrastructure may not be available.

Range of Up to 1,200 Kilometres

Flying Wedge has stated a range of up to 1,200 kilometres for the Kaala Bhairav Lite. The platform incorporates autonomous flight capabilities developed as part of the company’s broader work on unmanned and AI-enabled combat aviation.

The Lite platform is separate from Flying Wedge’s larger Kaal Bhairava autonomous combat aircraft, which the company has been developing as a Medium Altitude Long Endurance platform. The larger aircraft has been presented with a claimed operational range of approximately 3,000 kilometres and endurance exceeding 30 hours.

Flying Wedge has been developing autonomous navigation, AI-assisted mission management, secure communications and related flight-control technologies across these programmes.

Indigenous Content at Around 85%

According to the latest programme information, approximately 85% of the Kaala Bhairav Lite is indigenous. Flying Wedge has been working on domestic development of the airframe, autonomous flight technologies and associated aircraft systems rather than relying entirely on an imported unmanned-aircraft architecture.

The company has also established a 25,000-square-foot Centre for Autonomous Defence Research in Bengaluru to support work on autonomous combat aviation, artificial intelligence and related defence technologies.

The facility forms part of Flying Wedge’s effort to develop the engineering and testing infrastructure required to move its aircraft concepts through prototype development and progressively longer flight-test campaigns.

Kaala Bhairav Family Expands

Flying Wedge is developing the Kaala Bhairav programme through aircraft of different sizes and configurations. The Lite aircraft provides a flying platform through which autonomous flight technologies, navigation, communications and aircraft-control systems can accumulate operational test hours before similar technologies are introduced into larger aircraft.

The company is simultaneously working on its larger Kaal Bhairava aircraft and other autonomous aviation programmes. This approach allows flight-control software and other subsystems to be progressively tested instead of waiting for the completion of the largest aircraft configuration.

The 100-hour milestone gives the Kaala Bhairav Lite a considerably larger body of actual flight-test data as development continues.

Manufacturing Infrastructure Planned in Andhra Pradesh

Flying Wedge is also working towards establishing larger manufacturing and testing infrastructure for its aircraft programmes. The company has announced plans for a 500-acre manufacturing and testing facility in Andhra Pradesh intended to support the development and production of autonomous combat aircraft.

Its programme has also acquired an international manufacturing dimension. Flying Wedge announced a partnership with Portugal-based SKETCHPIXEL LDA, also known as KEYDEF, for an international manufacturing node connected with the Kaal Bhairava programme.

Flying Wedge has stated that the core autonomous systems and airframe design associated with the aircraft remain under its control as it develops overseas industrial partnerships.

With the Kaala Bhairav Lite now completing 100 hours of flight testing, Flying Wedge has moved another stage forward in validating an indigenous autonomous aircraft through sustained airborne trials rather than limiting the programme to prototype unveiling and ground demonstrations.

---

References

Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace — Kaala Bhairav Lite 100-hour flight-testing programme update, September 2026.

Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace — Kaal Bhairava Autonomous Combat Aircraft programme.

Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace — Centre for Autonomous Defence Research, Bengaluru.

Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace — Andhra Pradesh autonomous combat-aircraft manufacturing and testing facility programme.

Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace — Kaal Bhairava international manufacturing partnership with SKETCHPIXEL LDA (KEYDEF), Portugal.

---