Tata Elxsi and Sarla Aviation Partner to Develop the 'Shunya' Electric Air Taxi

3 September 2026National

Tata Elxsi and Bengaluru-based advanced air mobility startup Sarla Aviation signed an MoU to jointly develop Shunya, a six-seater-plus-one-pilot electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Tata Elxsi will provide engineering support for avionics, flight control systems, software integration, testing, verification, validation and certification, while Sarla Aviation leads design, development and type certification. Designed for flight operations exceeding 300 km, Shunya pairs VTOL capability with fixed-wing cruise efficiency for runway-independent urban and regional connectivity. The first flight is targeted within 18–24 months. The MoU was signed in the presence of Tata Elxsi CEO and MD Manoj Raghavan, strengthening India's Advanced Air Mobility ecosystem.

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eVTOL stands for Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing, a core technology of the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) ecosystem | India's civil aviation regulator is the DGCA, under the Ministry of Civil Aviation | Tata Elxsi is a Tata Group design and technology services company headquartered in Bengaluru

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