Belagavi startup Sarus driving India’s indigenous drone revolution

Belagavi

Belagavi-based Sarus Aerospace, founded in 2022 by aeronautical engineer Rahul Patil, is challenging India's dependence on imported drone components by building fully indigenous drones for the Army, agriculture, and medical deliveries. In an exclusive interview with News Trail, the bootstrapped deep-tech startup's CEO shares the company's journey, hybrid drone technology, and his vision for a truly "Made in India" aerospace ecosystem.

When did the journey of Sarus Aerospace begin, and how has your business model evolved over the years?
Rahul Patil: We started Sarus Aerospace in February 2022. Initially, our focus was on customization. Drone standards weren't clearly defined back then, so we procured materials from the market—importing heavily from China, Taiwan, and Australia—and customized drones based on user requirements.

However, as the market matured and Indian regulations restricted Chinese imports, we made a pivotal decision in 2023 to manufacture components in-house. It took years of research, but today, we are manufacturing specially for the Indian Army, and 97% of the parts in our current defense product are manufactured right here in India. This localization is the most complicated and challenging part of our journey, but we are successfully delivering these systems to the defense sector now.

Setting up an aerospace manufacturing unit in Belagavi is a unique choice. What inspired you to build your base in North Karnataka instead of a metropolitan tech hub?
Rahul Patil: I am an aeronautical engineer, and when I wanted to pursue my degree back in 2013-2014, there were no engineering colleges offering that specialization in Belagavi. I had to travel to Mangaluru to study at the Karavali Institute of Technology. When I graduated in 2017, I wanted to work in Belagavi, but the opportunities in aviation were scarce, forcing me to travel to other cities for work.

When I decided to start my own company, I wanted to see if it was possible to run an aerospace business from Belagavi itself. It has been over four years now, and we are successfully operating here. My entire team is from the local Belagavi region giving 100% local empowerment is our primary intention.

Speaking of local empowerment, how is Sarus Aerospace contributing to job creation in the region?
Rahul Patil: Currently, we have a team of about 30 people with a manufacturing capacity of 30 drones per month. Within the next two months, we are scaling up our facility to a 60-person team to produce up to 200 drones monthly. This will generate over 200 direct employment opportunities and, because we manufacture parts locally, more than 700 indirect jobs. Furthermore, we are introducing shift-wise work where the general day shift will be entirely composed of women employees. We are making that a compulsory policy to drive women's empowerment in the tech manufacturing sector.

There are many players entering the drone market. What is the technological differentiator for Sarus Aerospace?
Rahul Patil: Most companies build multi-rotor or fixed-wing drones. We specialize in hybrid drones, a sector with very few competitors. Unlike conventional multi-rotors, our hybrid drones take off vertically from a 10×10 metre space, then transition into fixed-wing flight — combining the best of both technologies. The result: three to four hours of continuous flight, 220+ km range, 4,000 m altitude capability, 108 km/h speed, and a 5 kg payload capacity — all powered by zero-emission electric propulsion.

Beyond defense, you are also making significant strides in agriculture and medical logistics. How are farmers adopting this technology?
Rahul Patil: The demand in agriculture is drastically increasing. Traditional pesticide spraying is highly labor-intensive, time-consuming, and prone to uneven application. It can take two laborers a whole day and cost over Rs 800 to spray one acre. In contrast, our agricultural drone which has a 10-liter payload can effectively spray three acres in just 15 minutes.

Beyond spraying, we use image processing and mapping to identify exactly where crops are diseased, allowing for targeted spraying rather than blanketing the whole field. Additionally, on the medical logistics front, we currently have 20 drones flying daily in the Himalayas specifically for delivering medicines across difficult terrains.

How was the support to your start-up by the KDEM?
Rahul Patil: On the government side, while initiatives like the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) have a great focus on startups. We have received backing from Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belagavi. They provided us with the necessary manufacturing space, and we have now established a Drone Research and Innovation Center on their campus.

Finally, what is the ultimate vision for Sarus Aerospace, and are you looking at global markets?
Rahul Patil: Our vision is simple: 100% made in India, local empowerment, and zero dependency on foreign imports. Right now, India’s defense sector relies heavily on imported parts up to 90% in some cases. We want to eliminate that deendency.