TDB Partners with ideaForge for YETI UAV Development
Ministry of Science & Technology · Science & Tech · Posted 14 OCT 2026 12:50PM
What happened
The Technology Development Board signed an agreement with ideaForge Technology Limited to provide ₹151 crore in debt financing under the RDI Fund to develop the YETI heavy-lift autonomous aerial logistics vehicle. The project aims to advance the VTOL-FW UAV technology from TRL-4 to TRL-9.
Why it matters for UPSC
This initiative highlights India's push towards indigenous deep-technology development, robotics, and autonomous aerial logistics for challenging terrains, aligning with UPSC syllabus themes on indigenous technology and science & technology applications.
Key objectives
- Provide ₹151 crore financial support through debt financing under the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund for a total project cost of ₹302 crore.
- Develop YETI, a heavy-lift long-range VTOL-FW UAV, advancing it from Technology Readiness Level (TRL)-4 to TRL-9.
- Enable transportation of payloads up to 200 kg with a 200 km targeted range and operating altitude up to 6,500 metres.