India Debuts Maiden MALE Drone With 3,000-Kilometer Range.

Aug 2025 : Bengaluru-based defence tech startup Flying Wedge Defence and Aerospace has unveiled India’s first medium altitude long endurance (MALE) autonomous combat aircraft.

The AI-powered FWD Kaal Bhairava can fly for 30 hours and cover 3,000 kilometres (1,864 miles), Indian media reported, citing company founder and CEO Suhas Tejaskanda. Designed for long-range surveillance, precision strikes, and swarm operations, the drone offers the country an indigenous option in the MALE category.

“For decades, India relied on imported platforms like the MQ-9B Reaper and Israeli Searcher drones, often at the cost of strategic autonomy. These platforms come with vulnerabilities such as embedded kill-switches and data routed through foreign servers”.

Against the backdrop of India-US tensions over trade tariffs and Russian oil imports, Tejaskanda said India cannot rely on foreign suppliers for key defence capabilities. “Sensitive wartime data must remain under national control”, he noted. “Ten Kaal Bhairavas can match the reconnaissance capabilities of a single Predator, but with far lower risk and cost”, Tejaskanda was quoted as saying.

India earlier approved the acquisition of 31 MQ-9Bs for an estimated cost of $4 billion. According to Tejaskanda, the Kaal Bhairava offers comparable capability at one-tenth the cost of the MQ-9B.

Developed in India, the drone features 80% local components that ensure a secure, sanction-proof supply chain. The company is also providing an indigenous maintenance, repair, and overhaul ecosystem to enable quicker turnarounds, lower lifecycle costs, and reliable spare parts access.

In addition to the Kaal Bhairava, the company’s portfolio includes a recently developed loitering munition with a range of 100 kilometres (62 miles) and an unmanned bomber aircraft under development with an operational range of up to 800 kilometres (497 miles).

Team Maverick