The NPNT (No Permission-No Takeoff) rule is an integral part of legal drone flight in India. Obtaining an NPNT compliance certificate involves several layers of protocols to be followed which initially was a challenge for drone manufacturers. However, this hurdle is increasingly being dealt with by manufacturers and several Indian drones are ready to hit the skies. Here are some of the NPNT compliant drones in India:
1. The A200 Drone
This high-performance surveillance drone, developed by a Bangalore based company Asteria Aerospace, is the first drone to be registered in India. Primary tasks of the 2 kg drone are surveillance, security, and industrial survey. Integrated with Asteria’s intuitive ground and cloud-based technologies, it collects and analyzes data. A200 is a VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) drone which makes it extremely efficient at operating in constrained environments. The drone’s compact nature and portability give it an upper hand in a fast-paced industry.
Drone Category: Micro
Maximum Take-off Weight: 2kg
Maximum Altitude: 400ft
Payload Specification: Electro-optical camera
2. Patang by Skylark Drones
The Patang drone was one of the first Indian drones to obtain an NPNT compliance certificate. The UAV is developed by a Bangalore-based startup, Skylark Drones. The company offers drone-based solutions in the area of infrastructure, public utilities, mining, and agriculture. Their drones help to track, analyze, and detect problems by creating a 3D model to digitize geographical features.
Drone Category: Micro
Maximum Take-off Weight: 1.9kg
Maximum Altitude: 1000ft
Payload Specification: RGB sensor – Sony A6000 camera
3. Lookout VTOL-Lite
The Lookout VTOL-Lite is a micro category UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) developed by Throttle Aerospace. The drone has a considerate payload capacity and endurance in extreme weather. Among the many features, it hosts swappable sensors like EO/IR, RGB Radiometric and Multispectral sensors. The Lookout drone is efficient at precision agriculture, topographical mapping, industrial inspections and much more.
Drone Category: Micro
Maximum Take-off Weight: 2kg
Maximum Altitude: 400ft
Payload Specification: Fixed 24MP RGB camera(max 300gm)
4. Ninja UAV
Developed by ideaForge, one of India’s oldest drone startup, the Ninja UAV offers great functionality and top-notch specifications. It has an operational range of up to 2 km, 25 minutes of flight time and 2 kg of takeoff weight. The Ninja can host different camera modules as payloads, such as daylight payload with 3x optical zoom, an HD imaging payload, and a thermal payload. Its main purpose is surveillance and mapping.
Drone Category: Micro
Maximum Take-off Weight: 1.989kg
Maximum Altitude: 400ft
Payload Specification: HD 1280X720p 3X Optical Zoom Daylight Standard Payload (Max. 325 gm)
5. Insight-PPK Multicopter
The Insight-PPK Multicopter was developed by the Bangalore-based company Aarav Unmanned Systems (AUS). This is a survey and mapping drone which is also NPNT compliant. It has a 3 km operational range, 30 minute flight time, and weighs 3.5 kg. This high-endurance drone claims to provide survey-grade accuracy, terrain-following, and an in-built PPK Geotagger among several other features. (Read more about PPK here).
Drone Category: Small
Maximum Take-off Weight: 3.6kg
Maximum Altitude: 400ft
Payload Specification: Sony RX100M2-1″-type Exmor-R BSI-CMOS sensor, 20.4 MP RGB payload
6. Agribot UAV (AGUAV)
Agribot is an agricultural drone registered by the company IoTechWorld Avigation Pvt. Ltd. founded by IIT graduates. The company specializes in aerial robotics and artificial intelligence. Agribot is the first agricultural drone and the heaviest civilian drone to be approved by the DGCA. Agribot is a hexacopter with 10L onboard-storage tank. The drone can spray over 30 acres of land in one day autonomously with a GPS precision of 50 cm.
Drone Category: Small
Maximum Take-off Weight: 23.2kg
Maximum Altitude: 33ft
Payload Specification: Agriculture sprayer with 10 L tank capacity
7. Prion Mk3
The Prion Mk3 drone has been developed by UAVE Ltd., a UK-based company. The Prion Mk3 initially debuted in 2008 internationally and is a medium category drone weighing nearly 30kg. It has an operational range of over 1000km. The Prion Mk3 is a fixed-wing drone with several applications such as off-shore law enforcement, surveillance, reconnaissance, and surveys. After the introduction of the Indian drone laws, the Prion Mk3 has been successfully registered with the DGCA.
Drone Category: Medium
Maximum Take-off Weight: 42.88kg
Maximum Altitude: 12,100ft
Payload Specification: Meteorological instruments
8. Starlite
Starlite is a micro-surveillance drone developed by Hubblefly Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Starlite is a 4-rotor NPNT compliant drone with an electro-optical (EO) camera that can zoom up to 10x. This is greatly beneficial for low-light visibility. Additionally, the drone comes equipped with an autopilot module.
Drone Category: Micro
Maximum Take-off Weight: 1.92kg
Maximum Altitude: 9842.52ft
Payload Specification: 10x EO Camera
9. Freebird Z1 A
The Freebird Z1 A drone has been developed by the cyber-security company Ecom Infotech India Ltd. The drone falls under the small category and is a rotary drone. However, to learn more about more technical specifications of the drone you can contact the manufacturer here.
Drone Category: Small
Maximum Take-off Weight: 4kg
Maximum Altitude: 13,123ft
Payload Specification: Sony 1.0-type Exmor RS 13MP CMOS Image sensor with Gimbal Tarot model T-3D V
10. DH-Q4
The DH-Q4 or the DH-QAUD is a small category surveillance drone developed by a Chennai-based team called Dhaksha Unmanned Systems Pvt. Ltd. The DH-Q4 has both semi-autonomous and fully autonomous modes. It has an operational range of 4-5km. Additionally, it has an added night vision payload apart from its full HD daylight payload.
Drone Category: Small
Maximum Take-off Weight: 5.14kg
Maximum Altitude: 400ft
Payload Specification: Sky Eye-I 1080P 10X Zoom Camera with Gimbal
11. WHITE HAWK
WHITE HAWK is a flagship photography and surveillance drone created by a Bangalore-based aerospace company, Edall Systems. The WHITE HAWK features an extremely portable design that is suitable for single-person operation in any terrain. The drone is equipped with an HD camera, that supports 4k video, and a 3-axis stabilized gimbal for steady shots. The four-rotor drone has a 2km operational range.
Drone Category: Micro
Maximum Take-off Weight: 1.98kg
Maximum Altitude: 11,482.94ft
Payload Specification: Fixed Non-removable payload, 4K 16MP camera
12. Staredge
Staredge is another NPNT-compliant quadcopter by Hubblefly Technologies. It is specifically made for fulfilling mapping and surveillance requirements. The drone features a Sony A6000 camera to meet the professional requirements. It has a maximum operational range of 2km. Additionally, its foldable arms provide efficient portability.
Drone Category: Small
Maximum Take-off Weight: 4.25kg
Maximum Altitude: 400ft
Payload Specification: Sony Alpha 6000 Camera
13. Model V
Model V is a rotary drone recently registered by a Hyderabad-based company called CBAI Technologies Private Limited. The company has not yet disclosed any specifications of the Model V drone. CBAI Technologies was incorporated in 2018.
Drone Category: Small
Maximum Take-off Weight: 3.33kg
Maximum Altitude: 400ft
Payload Specification: MicaSense RedEdge Camera
14. The A400 Drone
The A400 is the second drone that was registered by Asteria Aerospace, the first drone being the A200. The A400 is Asteria’s high-endurance mini-drone. The drone provides high-resolution real-time video both during the daytime and at night. It has an operational range of 5 km and a flight time of 40 minutes. (Read more)
Drone Category: Small
Maximum Take-off Weight: 3.40kg
Maximum Altitude: 400ft
Payload Specification: Daytime Video Camera, Sony FCB-EH3150, 1/4-type Exmor CMOS image sensor, 1280 x 720 resolution, 12x optical zoom
15. NOCTUA DS
The NOCTUA DS is an intelligent micro drone created by Detect Technologies. NOCTUA is a highly programmable drone. The drone can be programmed to cater to specific requirements of each equipment such as columns, vessels, reactors, etc. This makes the NOCTUA a fully automated drone. Furthermore, it is equipped with features such as Indoor Positioning System (IPS), GIS Mapping, Automated Fault Detection, and Cloud-Based Reporting System. (Read more)
Drone Category: Micro
Maximum Take-off Weight: 1.85kg
Maximum Altitude: 2624.67ft
Payload Specification: 12 MP Camera with Gimbal
16. Insight 2.0
Insight 2.0 is the second multi-rotor drone registered by Aarav Unmanned Systems Pvt. Ltd. It is a survey-grade NPNT-compliant drone. Additional details and specifications of the Insight 2.0 are yet to be released. However, it falls under the small category just like its predecessor model, Insight PPK.
Drone Category: Small
Maximum Take-off Weight: 3.60kg
Maximum Altitude: 400ft
Payload Specification: Sony RX100, RGB (Still Imagery), 1.0 inch Exmor CMOS sensor, 3.6x optical zoom
17. Trinity F90+
The Trinity F90+ is a fixed-wing VTOL survey and mapping drone developed by a Munich-based drone startup called Quantum-Systems GmbH. Trinity F90+ has an impressive flight time of 90+ minutes and can be equipped with a wide range of payloads. The drone has a maximum flight range of 100 km and a transmission range of 7.5 km. Quantum Systems also provide drone pilots with an intuitive mission planning software called QBase 3D that helps with pre-planning aerial surveys, automatically generating flight paths, and monitoring telemetry data. Learn more here.
Drone Category: Small
Maximum Take-off Weight: 4.9kg
Maximum Altitude: 400ft
Payload Specification: Sony UMC-R10C Camera
18. Omni Agri 01
The Omni Agri 01 is a micro drone developed by a Delhi based company Omnipresent Robot Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Omnipresent is India’s leading robotics, industrial UAV/drone, and video analytics solutions provider. The company employs drone technology in precision agriculture, surveillance, industrial inspection, and in recent times to combat COVID-19. The Omni Agri 01 is a fixed-wing precision agriculture drone. It hosts a multispectral MicaSense sensor to help with crop health management, disease detection, phenotyping, etc.
Drone Category: Micro
Maximum Take-off Weight: 1.98kg
Maximum Altitude: 4,921.26ft
Payload Specification: MicaSense RedEdge-MX
19. DART
DART is an agricultural drone developed by Bangalore based company General Aeronautics. The company designs civil & military aircraft along with other unmanned aerial systems. DART is a hexacopter under the medium category of drones.
Drone Category: Medium
Maximum Take-off Weight: 32.60kg
Maximum Altitude: 9,842.52ft
Payload Specification: The following payload with a total weight of up to 13 kg:
- Liquid storage tank and
- Liquid (Up to 8 kg)
- 4 Nozzles to deliver a fine mist of liquid (Total 1.2 kg)
- Pump for delivering liquid from the tank to nozzles
- Flowmeter for measuring the flow rate of liquid
- Plumbing for transferring the liquid
20. Surveybot
Surveybot is a surveillance drone developed by Gurugram based drone manufacturer IoTechWorld. The company creates drones for various purposes ranging from agriculture to logistics. Surveybot is a small category drone that features a 16 channel LiDAR and a range of other sensors. Read more about it here.
Drone Category: Small
Maximum Take-off Weight: 20kg
Maximum Altitude: 4,265.09ft
Payload Specification: Lidar Kit (Lidar system, Vibration pads, Battery, Camera, GPS with stand)
Image Source: IoTechWorld
21. Netra V3
The Netra V3 is a multi-rotor drone developed by, Mumbai-based, ideaForge Technologies. The third generation of the V series drones, has an operational range of about 5km, a flight time of 40-60 minutes, and maximum take-off weight of 3.305kg. Additionally, the drone has an IP53 certification for dust and water resistance. Netra V3 has a maximum altitude of 4500 meters. Learn more about the Netra V Series UAV here.
Drone Category: Small
Maximum Take-off Weight: 3.305kg
Maximum Altitude: 14,763.78ft
Payload Specification: HD 1280x720p 10x Optical Zoom Daylight Standard Payload
22. DH-AG-H1
The DH-AG-H1 is a new agricultural drone by Chennai-based startup Dhaksha Unmanned Systems Pvt. Ltd. The company has another certified drone called the DH-Q4, which has been listed above. The DH-AG-H1 is a low-altitude drone with a max. altitude limit of 50 feet. Additional specifications of the drone will be updated soon.
Drone Category: Medium
Maximum Take-off Weight: 46.9kg
Maximum Altitude: 50ft
How are NPNT compliant drones registered?
When a new drone is purchased it must be registered on the Digital Sky platform just like how a new automobile is registered at the RTO. As per NPNT regulations, a drone manufacturer is required to generate a Drone Key Pair, maintain a Management Server for UINs and registration records, getting a Digital Sky API, and several other crucial steps.
Four drone manufacturers on this list – Asteria Aerospace Pvt. Ltd., Aarav Unmanned Systems Pvt. Ltd., Hubblefly Technologies Pvt. Ltd., and Edall Systems, used the idroneport Management Server developed by Algopixel Technologies to complete the registration. The third-party management server comes with a desktop application to assist in the generation of a key pair and signing of data using a DSC Token. The iDronePort solution allows the developers to switch to Testbed mode which allows the developers to simulate the complete registration flow during the development process.
It is estimated that the drone market in India is set to grow exponentially and is going to have thousands of registered drones flying. Moreover, with the drone regulations and infrastructure slowly falling in place, the number of NPNT compliant drones is going to rise.
