Drones are a multi-million industry in India. Fueled by robust drone expertise and local investments, Tamil Nadu has emerged as a hub for drone production. Its capital, Chennai, is attracting established drone companies and fostering a local startup scene.
Chennai drone companies work closely with the aerospace and defense industries to build unmanned aerial vehicles and associated software. These are some prominent names to know.
Top Drone Companies in Chennai
- The ePlane Company
- Garuda Aerospace
- Aero360
- Boeing
- Detect Technologies
Top Drone Companies in Chennai
Founded: 2015
Focus: AI target-tracking drones and tactical payload delivery aircraft
What they do: Tunga Aerospace manufactures indigenous uncrewed aerial systems from its design center at the IIT Madras Research Park. The company produces the Drishya drone series, which integrates artificial intelligence with dual-sensor payloads for real-time target tracking. For specialized defense missions, Tunga develops the Log Drop tactical aircraft designed for precision payload delivery in hostile environments.
Founded: 2018
Focus: Long-range autonomous aircraft, automated charging stations, and electric flight systems
What they do: SpaceNXT Labs designs customized autonomous aircraft and research platforms focused on long-range flight capabilities. The company manufactures automated drone charging stations alongside modular payload mechanisms built for autonomous transport. For urban air mobility initiatives, SpaceNXT Labs develops sustainable electric flight systems while conducting advanced aerospace design programs.
Founded: 2016
Focus: Drone infrastructure inspection and predictive maintenance software
What they do: Detect Technologies develops artificial intelligence software that integrates with aerial drones to automate infrastructure inspection. Its flagship platform, T-Pulse, processes real-time video using computer vision algorithms to evaluate structural integrity and highlight safety violations. For heavy industrial environments, the company pairs drone-assisted spatial tracking with predictive maintenance software to preempt equipment failure.
Founded: 2019
Focus: Agricultural spraying drones and long-range security VTOL platforms
What they do: Dhaksha manufactures multi-purpose drone platforms designed for agricultural and defense sectors. The company produces the Agrigator series for precision crop spraying, which reduces chemical usage while optimizing field management. For security operations, Dhaksha builds the DH-Q4 multirotor alongside the WING VTOL platform to provide real-time aerial intelligence over extended ranges.
Founded: 2019
Focus: Hybrid VTOL drones for cargo transport, mapping and surveillance
What they do: The ePlane Company designs and manufactures electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for urban air mobility. The company’s primary platform, the e200X, is a compact all-electric eVTOL aircraft intended for mid-mile passenger transport. Through its subsidiary Amber Wings, ePlane also develops the Atva, a hybrid VTOL drone for cargo transport, mapping and surveillance. The ePlane Company operates a 60,000-square-foot prototyping and testing facility at IIT Madras Discovery Campus, and has successfully conducted flight tests of its hybrid platforms.
Founded: 2015
Focus: Agricultural crop management, surveillance and multi-sector UAVs
What they do: Garuda Aerospace is a drone company that engineers and manufactures a full catalog of unmanned aerial vehicles. Its Kisan agri-drone, designed for farm work, is built with sensors and cameras that collect data for crop management and other agricultural processes. The company also offers specialty drones for mapping and surveying, conducting surveillance, cleaning solar panels, dropping seeds and maintaining power lines.
Founded: 2017
Focus: Custom fixed-wing VTOL stealth defense drones and industrial surveying
What they do: Custom drone company Aero360 manufactures bespoke drones to customer specifications. It also offers out-the-box UAVs, including the CHAKRA fixed-wing VTOL stealth defense drone, which is designed and built to military standards for discretion, flight time and operational range. The company serves the agriculture, mining, forestry, defense and disaster management sectors with its custom products.
Founded: 2021
Focus: Autonomous military platforms, drone swarm software, and counter-drone systems
What they do: Hawking Defence Services develops autonomous platforms for military operation. The company engineers systems like drone swarm software for coordinated missions alongside counter-drone mitigation technology. For field operation, Hawking also develops long-endurance aircraft and specialized drone flare illumination systems.
Founded: 2023
Focus: Aerial land mapping, pipeline inspection, and agricultural spraying drones
What they do: AEROKNOTZ is an aerial services company focusing on specialized drone applications across commercial sectors. The company deploys autonomous drones for high-resolution land mapping alongside continuous pipeline inspection. For specialized sectors like agriculture, AEROKNOTZ provides spraying drones designed to automate crop protection and field assessment.
Founded: 1916
Focus: Autonomous aerial systems and ScanEagle UAVs
What they do: Boeing operates an engineering center in Chennai that develops software architectures for autonomous and uncrewed aerial systems across commercial and defense domains. The site focuses on core aviation capabilities, specializing in digital flight controls alongside automated vehicle management software. For unmanned aircraft, Boeing’s Chennai engineering team provides heavy-payload systems development, which enables real-time flight coordination and automated cargo transport.
