Make in India

One of the most important aspects of Vayu Baan is its expected ability to function in a GNSS-denied environment. Modern combat zones are increasingly saturated with jamming and spoofing systems designed to interfere with satellite navigation. A drone that depends entirely on GPS can therefore become unreliable at precisely the moment it is needed most. The IAF requirement consequently places emphasis on autonomous navigation even when satellite-navigation signals are unavailable or disrupted.

Prime Toolings announced the achievement through its official social-media channels, including the company’s Instagram account, stating that its Rotating Detonation Engine had successfully completed development and testing and had reached TRL-5. The company has subsequently released additional glimpses of the engine’s internal configuration and indicated that further technical information from the development programme will be made public.

Khagantak-243 is the 300-kg-class member of JSR Dynamics’ Long Range Glide Bomb family. The company’s official specifications list the K-243 with a length of up to four metres, a diameter of approximately 290 mm and a wingspan of up to three metres. The broader LRGB architecture is designed around the widely used Mk 80 family of conventional warheads, allowing different bomb bodies and payload classes to be incorporated into the same basic stand-off weapon concept.

Kepler is now preparing to translate that technology-development programme into an operational space-based ISR capability. The company raised $8 million in seed funding on September 1, 2026, in a round led by Blue Ashva Capital and co-led by Finvolve India Accelerator along with other investors. The investment has been reported at around ₹66.4 crore and represents Kepler’s first external fundraising round since the company was established in 2018.

The underwater programme itself predates the latest disclosure. VEDA Aeronautics Managing Director Dipesh Gupta confirmed during Milipol India 2025 that the company was designing an underwater decoy for the Navy, with the longer-term objective of evolving the technology into a miniature underwater attack drone. The September 2026 update therefore provides fresh visibility to an existing development programme rather than marking its original launch.

The capability is particularly relevant to defence operations because modern battlefields increasingly feature electronic warfare systems designed to jam or spoof Global Navigation Satellite System signals.