The X-61 has a maximum operating range of 250 km. (Cingularity Aerospace)
Bangalore-based Cingularity Aerospace has revealed details about its new X-61 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Speaking to Janes at the Aero India 2025 show, Vishal Markanday, the CEO of Cingularity Aerospace, said the X-61 is being jointly developed by the company in partnership with the Indian Navy's Weapons and Electronics Systems Engineering Establishment (WESEE).
The X-61 features delta-wings, forward canards, and a vertical tail. The UAV has a fixed tricycle-type landing gear and is powered by Cingularity Aerospace's 550i, a 550 cc internal combustion piston engine. The UAV measures 2.9 m in length, 1.4 m in height, and has a wingspan of 2.4 m with an all-up weight of 51 kg.
It has a maximum operating range of 250 km and a service ceiling of 6,000 ft. The payload bay can be modified to accommodate role-specific payloads. During flight trials, the X-61 displayed a stable cruising speed of 38 m/s and a stall speed of 22 m/s.
In its most recent test flights conducted on 16 January 2025 at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga, Karnataka, the X-61 was tested for autonomous take-off and landing (ATOL) and return to launch (RTL).
According to Markanday, the first deck trials for the UAV are expected to be conducted at INS Hansa, a naval airbase in Goa, in collaboration with the Indian Navy's Naval Flight Test Squadron (NFTS).
Markanday said that Cingularity Aerospace is “building multiple iterations of the X-61”. He added that the “one undergoing flight trials right now is the smallest version”, with other versions increasing in weight to 110 kg.
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