Amber Wings Get DGCA Certification For Hybrid Cargo Drone

Chennai-based air mobility startup The ePlane Company’s sister concern Amber Wings has received type certification from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for its hybrid cargo drone.

With this, Amber Wings claims to have become the first Indian startup to receive approval for a hybrid cargo drone. Under Drone Rules, 2021, companies are mandated to seek type certificates to comply with norms related to safety, security, and reliability of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). 

Called ATVA-1, Amber Wing’s drone has been approved for 24/7 commercial use, including at night, something no other cargo drone operator in India has been permitted to do until now. Following the certification, the startup will now steadily launch pilots across India.

Notably, the IIT Madras-incubated startup has two DGCA-certified drones – ATVA-1 for logistics and Vihaa for agritech. 

While Vihaa is an agri-drone with a tank capacity of 10 litres and a spraying capacity of 30 acres per day, ATVA-1 is a fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone with a wingspan of 1.7 metres. 

ATVA-1 is capable of carrying up to 2 kg payloads and can fly up to 60 km in straight-line conditions, with a tested range of over 55 km even when fully loaded. The startup claims that the drone was built over six prototypes and 10,000 km of flight testing. 

This drone is also capable of precise rooftop landings using real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning, making it especially suitable for tightly packed Indian cities. It is this aspect that Amber Wings wants to use to drive its logistics play. 

Amber Wings’ Quick Commerce Pitch 

Founded in 2019 by Chakravarthy and Pranjal Mehta, The ePlane Company is developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft suitable for both passenger and cargo transport within cities.

The organisational structure of the company consists of a central parent entity named Ubifly Technologies, under which two main businesses – The ePlane Company and Amber Wings – operate.

While The ePlane Company is the primary division that focuses on developing manned eVTOL aircraft, Amber Wings specialises in drones. The latter was initially established as an internal brand but was hived off as a separate entity recently. 

Speaking with Inc42, Amber Wings cofounder and CEO Satya Chakravarthy said that the startup’s drones land and hand over parcels to human delivery partners, unlike international drone models that drop packages from the air. This, he added, was an intentional choice to address both cultural expectations and urban safety challenges.

He said that Amber Wings’ future logistics strategy is focused on catering to quick commerce players as well as use cases for medical supplies, ecommerce and other B2B models.

Regulatory Roadmap And Future Plans

After the DGCA certification, Amber Wings is now working towards securing two key regulatory clearances that would allow it to scale operations significantly – Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) permissions and yellow zone access. 

BVLOS regulations currently restrict drones from flying more than a couple of kilometres from their take-off point. To overcome this, the startup is developing a robust three-tier tracking system combining RF communication, LTE/4G mobile connectivity, and satellite-based communication (satcom). 

Once demonstrated, this setup will allow regulators to automatically monitor drone flights over long distances, unlocking intercity and deep urban routes.

In parallel, Amber Wings is preparing for operations in yellow zones – areas around cities and airports where flights are restricted. According to Chakravarthy, commercial demand is located in these zones but permissions require real-time drone tracking to ensure airspace safety. 

Amber Wings expects that once BVLOS trials are completed, yellow zone operations will also be approved. For now, it plans to launch initial pilots in green zones, especially in tier II & III cities where fewer airspace restrictions apply.

Looking ahead, Amber Wings is developing a series of drones to expand its logistics capability. These include ATVA-2, an under-development 6+ kg payload model slated to begin testing by September 2025; Multi-50, a multicopter drone for heavier payloads of over 50 kg; and the e50 and e100 hybrid VTOL platforms, targeting fast delivery of 50-100 kg payloads over greater distances. 

Amber Wings is also finalising a manufacturing partnership to scale production and is in discussions to raise about $30 Mn to $50 Mn in its Series A funding in the next few months, the  cofounder said.