Air system · Developmental Flying-Wing UCAV

Ghatak

Proposed Low-Observable ISR / Strike

Also known as: DRDO Ghatak / Ghatak UCAV

Ghatak military drone profile image
Ghatak — Proposed Low-Observable ISR / Strike. Contributor-supplied illustration, not a verified technical drawing. Do not derive dimensions, armament integration or flight configuration from the artwork. This depicts the full-scale aircraft concept; SWiFT is a separate technology demonstrator.

Ghatak overview

Last reviewed:

Ghatak is India's developmental stealth-oriented unmanned combat aircraft program associated with DRDO and its Aeronautical Development Establishment. The intended full-scale aircraft uses a tailless flying-wing configuration for reconnaissance and strike missions, with internal carriage commonly discussed as part of the low-observable concept. It is not an operational fighter replacement and should not be described as a fielded stealth strike fleet. Public artwork and scale demonstrators illustrate the design direction but do not establish the dimensions or capabilities of a production aircraft.

The strongest official flight evidence concerns the smaller Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator, widely called SWiFT, rather than a completed full-size Ghatak. India's Ministry of Defence records the demonstrator's maiden flight in July 2022 and a successful seventh flight in its final tailless configuration in December 2023. The announcement describes composite construction, flight-control maturation and autonomous landing using onboard sensor fusion and GAGAN-assisted navigation. Those are meaningful demonstrated technologies, but a small test vehicle's flight does not validate the full-size aircraft's payload, combat radius, low-observable signature or weapons release.

The procurement context advanced in 2026. On March 27, the Defence Acquisition Council granted Acceptance of Necessity for Remotely Piloted Strike Aircraft for the Indian Air Force. Its official release describes offensive counter-air, coordinated air operations and stealth ISR roles, without naming Ghatak or providing a firm aircraft quantity. Subsequent specialist reporting links that RPSA effort to Ghatak and discusses full-scale prototype work. This profile preserves the difference between the official approval language and the program identification supplied by secondary reporting; neither constitutes a completed production contract or a delivered squadron.

Reported full-scale configurations and mass estimates have evolved, making a single precise specification table potentially misleading. April 2026 specialist coverage discusses a roughly 13.5–15 tonne class aircraft, markedly larger than older concept estimates. This is treated here as a reported development class rather than a certified maximum takeoff weight. Verified baseline length, span, maximum speed, endurance, payload mass and service ceiling were not established in the reviewed official material. Through the November 2026 review, the useful story is the progression from flight-demonstrated flying-wing controls toward a larger strike-aircraft program, not an invented full-scale first flight or operational entry.

Armament

Proposed internal precision-weapon carriage; full-scale qualified weapons inventory not publicly established

Development and operational timeline

  1. Initial Ghatak lead-in funding sanctioned, according to subsequent program reporting; this is a development approval, not aircraft introduction into service
  2. SWiFT/Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator makes its maiden flight; this is not the full-scale Ghatak's first flight
  3. DRDO announces the demonstrator's seventh flight in final tailless configuration and autonomous landing capability
  4. DAC grants Acceptance of Necessity for IAF Remotely Piloted Strike Aircraft; the official release does not name Ghatak or specify a fleet quantity
  5. Specialist reporting links RPSA to Ghatak and describes prototype-development tenders and an evolved full-scale mass class
  6. Editorial status review: demonstrator achievements and procurement approval distinguished from full-scale flight, series production and operational service

Sources & further reading