Tata Elxsi and Sarla Aviation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the development of Shunya, Sarla Aviation’s six-seater electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The partnership combines Sarla Aviation’s expertise in advanced air mobility with Tata Elxsi’s capabilities in aerospace engineering, software and flight-critical digital systems. The companies will work together on aircraft development, testing and certification as Sarla Aviation moves towards the first flight of Shunya.
Under the agreement, Tata Elxsi will provide engineering support in areas including avionics, flight control systems, software integration, testing, verification and validation, and certification. Sarla Aviation will lead the overall design, development and type certification of the aircraft. The companies will also explore cooperation in sensor-fusion-based navigation software, industrial and structural design and airworthiness testing.
Shunya is being developed as a six-seater aircraft with one pilot and is designed to offer a flight range of more than 300 km. Its eVTOL configuration will allow vertical take-off and landing without a conventional runway, while its fixed-wing design is intended to provide greater efficiency during cruise operations. Sarla Aviation is targeting the first flight of Shunya within the next 18 to 24 months. Certification activities are expected to follow the flight testing programme.
Adrian Schmidt, Co-Founder and CEO, Sarla Aviation, said developing a new aircraft requires cooperation between organisations with expertise in different areas. He said Tata Elxsi’s experience in complex aerospace systems would provide important capabilities as Sarla Aviation moves Shunya from development towards flight testing and certification.
Manoj Raghavan, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Elxsi, said advanced air mobility represents a new area where engineering, technology and infrastructure will need to work together. He said the partnership with Sarla Aviation provides an opportunity to apply Tata Elxsi’s experience in aerospace, mobility and digital technologies to a new aircraft platform.
Jayaraj Rajapandian, Head of Aerospace, Tata Elxsi, said the development of aircraft that are increasingly electric, connected and fly-by-wire is creating new opportunities in aviation. The partnership was announced at Sarla Aviation’s newly inaugurated headquarters in Bengaluru. Beyond Shunya, the collaboration is expected to support the development of capabilities that could be relevant to logistics, air ambulance services and defence applications.
Tata Elxsi works across aerospace, transportation, mobility, software-defined systems, electrification, digital engineering and artificial intelligence. The company provides design and technology services to organisations across transportation, media and communications, and healthcare.
Sarla Aviation is an Indian aerospace company headquartered in Bengaluru and was founded in 2023 by Adrian Schmidt and Rakesh Gaonkar. The company is developing electric aircraft for advanced air mobility, with an initial focus on connecting cities and regions in India.
