New Delhi: India’s indigenous civil aviation programme crossed a key milestone on Wednesday with CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) completing the design phase of the 19-seater Saras MK-II aircraft, paving the way for prototype manufacturing and assembly.
Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu hailed the development as “a proud moment for Indian aviation”. “As India’s first indigenously designed light transport aircraft, Saras Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.This breakthrough in domestic aerospace manufacturing will further empower the UDAN vision to connect our remotest and high-altitude airfields with ‘Made in India’ aircraft,” he said in a post on X.
The Saras MK-II is India’s first indigenously designed light transport aircraft and is intended to serve regional routes and smaller airports.
The aircraft features a pressurised cabin, glass cockpit, digital avionics, autopilot and command-by-wire flight controls.
CSIR-NAL has frozen the aircraft’s design and will now move to prototype manufacturing with industry partners.
The aircraft programme was revived after an earlier setback in 2009 when a prototype crashed.
Saras MK-II is expected to strengthen India’s aerospace manufacturing ecosystem and reduce dependence on imported regional aircraft. Additionally, CSIR-NAL is also pursuing a 80-90 seat regional aircraft programme.
