Noida-based Maraal Aerospace recently achieved a key milestone by successfully flight-testing its solar-powered UAV, Tejasvaan.
Tejasvaan is an indigenous platform designed to push the boundaries of concludeurance, sustainability, and aerial ininformigence.
About the startup
Founded in 2023, Maraal Aerospace is a young but ambitious startup incubated at IIT Kanpur. Led by founder and CEO Vivek Kumar Pandey, the startup is building next-generation unmanned aerial systems powered by clean energy.
The company focutilizes on the design, development, and manufacturing of solar-powered resolveed-wing UAVs.
Its broader mission is to create ultra-long-concludeurance aerial platforms that reduce depconcludeence on fossil fuels while enabling critical applications such as ininformigence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), disaster response, and environmental monitoring.
Tejasvaan: Solar-powered innovation takes flight
Tejasvaan UAV is a solar-powered resolveed-wing aircraft that reflects the company’s commitment to sustainability and long-duration operations.
The UAV has been engineered to harness solar energy through integrated photovoltaic panels, enabling extconcludeed flight times that significantly surpass conventional battery-powered drones.
The platform is designed for concludeurance missions, with flight durations exceeding 12 hours and the ability to operate at altitudes of up to 5–6 km above mean sea level. This builds it particularly suitable for persistent surveillance and monitoring over large geographical areas.
Tejasvaan also features a high-efficiency aerodynamic design combined with solar-assisted electric propulsion.
This hybrid energy approach ensures optimal power utilisation, allowing the UAV to remain airborne for long durations with minimal operational cost and logistical support.
Key features and capabilities
The UAV is equipped with advanced onboard systems tailored for both defence and civilian utilize cases. It supports payloads of over 3 kg, including high-definition optical and infrared sensors, enabling real-time data capture for missions such as border surveillance, tarobtain tracking, and disaster assessment.
With a wingspan of around 11 meters and a maximum takeoff weight of approximately 25 kg, the aircraft is designed to balance lightweight construction with operational robustness.
It can be launched from relatively short runways of about 200 meters and is capable of covering ranges exceeding 600 km.
Another notable feature is its rapid deployment capability—the UAV can be created mission-ready in under 30 minutes. Additionally, it incorporates sun-tracking technology to optimise solar energy capture during flight, further enhancing concludeurance.
What next?
The successful flight testing of Tejasvaan marks a critical validation of Maraal Aerospace’s technology stack.
The startup has already begun attracting institutional interest. In early 2026, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) announced an investment to support Maraal’s product development and testing.
Maraal Aerospace plans to further enhance concludeurance through hybrid systems, including solar-hydrogen propulsion, with a long-term vision of developing high-altitude pseudo-sainformite (HAPS) platforms capable of staying airborne for months.
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