Sarla Aviation has officially begun ground testing its SYLLA SYL-X1, a half-scale electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) demonstrator, at its test facility in Bengaluru.
The aircraft features a 7.5-meter wingspan, said to be the most advanced and largest private eVTOL demonstrator developed within India to date. This milestone was achieved following a nine-month development cycle characterized by rapid engineering execution and high systems maturity.
The transition to ground testing moves the program beyond digital modeling and laboratory experiments into a core validation phase intended to test structural behavior, propulsion integration, and safety architecture at a meaningful scale.
Unlike smaller prototypes, the SYL-X1 has been designed with certification intent to serve as a direct bridge toward a full-scale aircraft with a 15-meter wingspan. The company aims to achieve helicopter-class mission endurance while utilizing electric propulsion and integrated systems design to reduce operational complexity, costs, and safety trade-offs.
Rakesh Gaonkar, Co-Founder & CTO, Sarla Aviation, commented, “This milestone reflects what’s possible when globally experienced Indian engineering teams build with rigor, patience, and world-class standards. Our focus has never been on being first, but on building to last – on creating an aviation giant.
“We are building something India can be proud of: a platform that can be certified, produced, and safely operated, designed and owned entirely in India. Our goal is to take this new era of aviation technology across the finish line for India – and bring it home.”
The development process involved scaling the organization to nearly 70 engineers and establishing a certification-aligned flight-test ecosystem within India’s emerging aerospace supply chain. Alongside the technical progress of the SYL-X1, the company recently presented a full-scale static aircraft at Bharat Mobility and secured a total of USD 13 million in funding to support long-term execution.
Sarla Aviation’s leadership team, which possesses significant global aerospace expertise, is focused on navigating the complexities of certification and production. By building the technology entirely within India to international standards, the firm seeks to position the country among a select group of nations capable of developing industrial-scale vertical flight systems for both domestic and global markets.
