Research, Development and Innovation Fund (RDIF) from the Department of Science and Technology, with support from the Technology Development Board, has marked a milestone in the journey of SABAL-200, an Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) designed to carry a payload of more than 200kgs across the high-altitude regions, difficult terrains for critical missions in defence, and civilian applications.  

The journey towards this achievement began much earlier with the vision of building SABAL-20 and SABAL-40, which built the confidence to develop our heavy-lift SABAL-200 platform with 2.5 hours of endurance and 200km operational range. At the Emerging Science, Technology, and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC), organized by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, this initiative announced by our Hon’ble Prime Minister helps us to align our SABAL-200 vision with India’s vision of an indigenous technology in logistics. 

Notably, in the first cohort announced under the initiative, our company is the first drone-based company to receive this support. This funding is not just a support, but a belief, a confidence, and structured as patient capital, to support the development of SABAL-200. 

The Research, Development and Innovation Fund (RDIF) from the Department of Science and Technology is one of the schemes launched by the Government of India to support and strengthen indigenous deep- tech programs in the private sector. The scheme was approved with a corpus of ₹1 lakh crore to support research, innovation, and high-impact technologies in sunrise and strategic sectors. 

They recognize our project SABAL-200 as a high-impact indigenous solution where the opportunity is obvious because it addresses a critical gap in India’s defence as well as civilian applications. Conventional logistics in rugged terrain, high altitude regions, and disaster zones can be slow, risky, and difficult to scale. This is why the project fits the larger purpose of the RDI initiative.  

SABAL- 200 incorporates a variable-pitch rotor system, a turbocharged internal combustion engine, with high endurance, range, and thrust control necessary to operate for heavy-lift UAV operations. 

The road ahead is focused and clear.  With TDB’s support under this funding, our company will progress SABAL-200 Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 to (TRL) 9, accelerating indigenous technology advancement to move from development towards operational readiness.   

Our larger vision with RDI funding is to reduce dependence on imported aviation platforms, create skilled opportunities across engineering, flight operations, testing, production, avionics, and electronics, and open export possibilities in the growing global cargo drone market. SABAL -200 is envisioned as a step to build India’s self- reliance UAV Platforms.  

“Building deep-tech aerospace systems is a long-cycle effort that extends well beyond prototyping. It requires sustained investment across testing, iteration, and validation before systems are ready for deployment,” said Rama Krishna, Co-founder and CEO of the company. 

 

“SABAL-200 is our step towards making high payload strategic platform development a reality to realize the honourable PM’s dream of making India a superpower in drone technology,” said Dr. Abhishek, Founder & Director, EndureAir Systems Pvt. Ltd.  

For the entire team, this achievement reflects years of conviction and effort. With this funding, our company moves closer to building next-generation heavy lift UAV capability. For the entire team, this achievement reflects years of conviction and effort. With RDI funding, EndureAir moves closer to building the next-generation heavy lift UAV capability, designed to support defence and civilian needs across India’s most demanding environments with greater reliability and operational readiness.

Fly with purpose