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Flying Wedge unveils FWD Supreme static prototype for AI-piloted combat aircraft
The Bengaluru defence startup showed a full-scale Heavy prototype in New Delhi and said its lighter Lite demonstrator has finished taxi trials, with a first flight targeted within about two months.
Bengaluru-based Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace unveiled a full-scale static prototype of FWD Supreme in New Delhi on 13 October 2026, presenting what it calls India's first AI-piloted fighter aircraft programme. Fortune India, Outlook India and The Hindu Business Line all covered the launch. Founder and CEO Suhas Tejaskanda told Fortune India the programme is meant to differ from remotely piloted unmanned combat projects such as DRDO's Ghatak and HAL's CATS Warrior, because the aircraft is designed for more independent decision making and coordinated group tactics.
Company Phase 1 specifications, reported by Outlook and The Hindu Business Line, describe a flying-wing design of about 10 metres by 10 metres with an internal weapons bay, weight above 1,500 kg, payload of about 350 kg, 5 kN thrust, top speed of Mach 0.8 to 0.85, cruise of 500 to 600 kmph, range over 1,500 km and endurance over two hours, with satellite communication. Tejaskanda told Fortune India the Heavy airframe sits in the one-tonne to 1.5-tonne class depending on the fuel and payload trade-off, and that the final configuration will be frozen after testing. The company has no formal Ministry of Defence contract for the programme yet and is seeking private equity and venture capital, he said.
The smaller FWD Supreme Lite technology demonstrator, a roughly 250 kg-class test bed, has completed taxi trials and is being prepared for its maiden flight, which Tejaskanda said is expected within the next one-and-a-half to two months. CTO Girish G Dixit told The Hindu Business Line that key technologies will be proven on the lighter aircraft before they move into the heavier design, and that CEMILAC and NATO-related certification steps are planned after further tests. The company says it is pursuing Operation Triple Seven to bring international partners into an India-led development and manufacturing effort.
RuntimeBRT later visited the company's Bengaluru factory and described FWD Supreme as an unmanned, AI-piloted fighter programme still under development. The unveil is a static prototype milestone, not a completed flight of the Heavy variant. Maiden-flight results for Lite have not been announced. Claims about autonomy, cost and indigenous content remain company statements pending flight tests and any formal defence procurement.
