From Left - X-61 ISR Drone, High Speed 300N Jet Powered Target drone & Tandem Wing UAV

Cingularity Aerospace, based in Bangalore, has released information about their new X-61 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Vishal Markanday, CEO of Cingularity Aerospace, told Janes at the Aero India 2025 show that the X-61 is being developed with the Indian Navy's Weapons and Electronics Systems Engineering Establishment (WESEE).

The X-61 has delta-wings, forward canards, and a vertical tail. It also features a fixed tricycle-type landing gear and is powered by Cingularity Aerospace's 550i, a 550 cc internal combustion piston engine. The UAV is 2.9 m long, 1.4 m high, and has a wingspan of 2.4 m, with an all-up weight of 51 kg.

The X-61 has a maximum operating range of 250 km and a service ceiling of 6,000 ft. Its payload bay is modifiable to accommodate different payloads. During flight trials, the X-61 showed a stable cruising speed of 38 m/s and a stall speed of 22 m/s.

The X-61 was tested for autonomous take-off and landing (ATOL) and return to launch (RTL) in test flights on January 16, 2025, at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga, Karnataka.

Markanday also mentioned that the first deck trials for the UAV are expected to be conducted at INS Hansa, a naval airbase in Goa, with the Indian Navy's Naval Flight Test Squadron (NFTS). Cingularity Aerospace is "building multiple iterations of the X-61," according to Markanday, and "the one undergoing flight trials right now is the smallest version," with other versions weighing up to 110 kg.

Janes