Eternal CEO Deepinder Goyal announced on Thursday that the first technology demonstrator built by LAT Aerospace—a startup he has invested in—is “almost ready for flight.” Reported by UP Stox.
The achievement marks a major step forward in the company’s mission to develop ultra-short take-off and landing (uSTOL) aircraft in India.
In a post on X, Goyal revealed that LAT has created a fully electric, fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from the ground up in just a few months, supported by an in-house flight lab.
“Our first uSTOL technology demonstrator is ready,” he wrote. “We now have a fully electric, fixed-wing UAV built from scratch and almost ready for flight. Ground rolls done.
As I type this, we are pushing hard to get the bird in the air. Hopefully it doesn’t blow up.”
According to Goyal, the tech demonstrator can take off in just 40 metres, thanks to a high lift coefficient of 5—more than double that of most conventional aircraft.
The UAV also offers 60 minutes of endurance and an autonomous cruise range comparable to flying from Mumbai to Pune.
Alongside the demonstrator, LAT is advancing its research into hybrid-electric propulsion and has begun forming a team to build its own gas turbine engines.
Goyal called this “one of the hardest engineering challenges possible,” but said the company aims to bring the technology to life before the end of the decade.
He also clarified that LAT Aerospace is not part of Eternal.
Earlier this year, The Economic Times reported that Goyal had invested USD 20 million in LAT Aerospace, founded by former Zomato COO Surobhi Das.
The startup aims to create low-cost STOL aircraft with up to 24 seats, designed to operate from ultra-compact “air-stops” no bigger than a parking lot.
In a June LinkedIn post, Das said the idea grew from India’s regional connectivity gap: despite having over 450 airstrips, only about 150 currently host commercial flights.
“Millions in Tier 2 and 3 cities spend hours—sometimes days—travelling by road or rail,” she wrote.
LAT’s vision is to build “buses in the sky”—affordable, high-frequency flights connecting urban areas with locations traditional airlines overlook.
“Our aircraft will take off and land in compact air-stops built close to where people live. No chaos. No security lines. Just walk in and fly,” Das added.