India’s AI combat drone ‘Kaal Bhairava’ set for European production through Portugal partnership

New Delhi- Indian AI warfare startup FWDA on Friday announced that its autonomous combat aircraft ‘Kaal Bhairava’ will be manufactured in Europe under a strategic collaboration with Portuguese defence technology firm SKETCHPIXEL, marking a significant step for India’s growing defence manufacturing ambitions.

The partnership is being seen as a major breakthrough for India’s indigenous defence ecosystem, with Kaal Bhairava emerging as one of the first Indian-developed AI combat aircraft platforms to enter the European defence manufacturing network.

SKETCHPIXEL, known for its advanced fighter jet simulation technologies for aircraft like the F-16 Fighting Falcon, will provide simulation systems, AI integration support, communications infrastructure and interoperability capabilities for the platform.

FWDA will continue to hold intellectual property rights for the aircraft’s autonomous systems and airframe architecture.

Designed as a medium-altitude, long-endurance autonomous combat aircraft, Kaal Bhairava reportedly has an operational range of around 3,000 kilometres and can remain airborne for more than 30 hours.

The aircraft is equipped with AI-powered target recognition, encrypted communication systems and swarm coordination capabilities, placing it among a new generation of autonomous warfare platforms.

Rather than focusing solely on traditional manned combat aircraft, FWDA is building a defence ecosystem centred on autonomous airpower, swarm-based warfare systems and next-generation air defence technologies.

Speaking on the partnership, FWDA founder and CEO Suhas Tejaskanda said the agreement highlights growing international confidence in Indian-designed autonomous warfare systems and reflects India’s increasing integration into global defence manufacturing networks.

He added that Portugal’s strategic access to NATO-linked defence ecosystems could open new collaborative opportunities across Europe and strengthen future deployment prospects for the company’s technologies.

“The larger objective is to help position India among the world’s leading defence exporters,” he said.

SKETCHPIXEL CEO Miguel Abrue said the collaboration would combine FWDA’s expertise in engineering, AI systems, electronics and chip analysis with SKETCHPIXEL’s strengths in military simulation, interoperability and integration.

According to him, major components of the programme — including structural engineering, firmware, communication systems, control mechanisms and validation processes — will be jointly developed under strict technological and safety standards.

With inputs from IANS