India Heavy-Lift Unmanned Airships: India’s Air Force is now looking at a very different kind of flying machine. It is not a fighter jet. It is not a normal transport aircraft either. The Indian Air Force wants to build an unmanned “Medium Altitude Heavy Lift Airship” that can stay in the sky for many days and do important military work again and again without coming down. The official project brief says this airship is being planned mainly for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance work. It is also being looked at as a communication platform, much like systems used for airborne radar support.
The Air Force wants Indian defence companies to send proposals for this project by April 30, 2026. This is being done under the Make-I route of DAP 2020. After companies respond, the most suitable design will be taken forward. The official brief also says the expected minimum order is around 10 airships, though the final number may change after the feasibility study is done.
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This project is part of India’s push to build more military systems at home. The airship is meant to fall under the “Buy Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed, and Manufactured)” category after successful development. That means the final product must have at least 50% indigenous content.
Built for long missions
This airship is being planned for long endurance, not fast movement. The official technical note says it must carry at least 2,000 kg, and a future goal of up to 5,000 kg is considered desirable. Its normal operating range is from sea level to 10,000 feet above mean sea level, while flying up to 30,000 feet is listed as a desirable target. The required endurance is at least 10 days while carrying payload, and the long-term goal is 30 days.
To make that possible, the Air Force wants a hybrid setup. The project brief says lift and propulsion should use a hybrid solution, preferably based on hydrogen fuel, with support from solar power, batteries, fuel cells, or other technology. Hydrogen has been preferred because it is lighter than air, widely available, and its combustion product is only water vapour. At the same time, using hydrogen safely in a large military airship will need strong engineering, careful storage, and leak control.
The airship is also expected to move at a maximum true air speed of 100 knots. So this platform is not being built to rush from one point to another. It is being built to remain above a target area for a very long time and keep watching, tracking, and supporting operations without a break.
Expected Features
The planned airship is not only for basic watching from above. The Air Force says it should work as a persistent ISR platform and carry systems such as radar. It may also use EO, IR, SAR, and SIGINT payloads. On top of that, it should act as a communication relay. Its communication requirement includes line-of-sight range of at least 250 km or satellite communication support.
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Another big demand is navigation in difficult conditions. The official brief says the platform must be able to operate with GNSS, IRNSS, NAVIC, and even in a GNSS denied environment. This means the airship should still work even if regular GPS signals are jammed or not available. .
Hard to build
This airship will not be easy to make. The Air Force wants it to have the ability to auto launch and recover from prepared and unprepared surface. In simple words, it should not need a normal runway and should be able to handle operations from proper bases as well as rough ground. That makes the design much harder because large lighter-than-air platforms are not easy to control during take-off, landing, or bad weather.
The companies that want to join this program will face strict checks. The project brief asks for financial strength, manufacturing infrastructure, technical ability, in-house design and development capability, and awareness of military quality and certification systems such as DGAQA and CEMILAC. Firms also need to explain what they can build inside India, what they may outsource, and how they will meet the 50% indigenous content rule
