• This is the first time in India that an existing civilian airport is turning into a drone experimentation and certification ecosystem

All India: India is preparing to open a new frontier in aviation — not in the skies above 30,000 feet, but in the low‑altitude airspace up to 1,000 metres where the next revolution in logistics, defence, and mobility will unfold. At the heart of this shift stands BonV Aero, the homegrown deep‑tech company powering the nation’s unmanned aviation future. In a landmark announcement at Wings India 2026, the Government of Odisha revealed plans to establish the National UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Test and Innovation Corridor at Rangeilunda — set to become India’s first operational commercial airport repurposed as a live UAV test site.

 For the first time, drones will be tested in real, dynamic airspace instead of fenced‑off laboratory zones, marking a decisive leap in how India validates and scales next‑generation aerial systems. Speaking at the signing ceremony with BonV Aero, Smt. Usha Padhee, IAS Principal Secretary Commerce & Transport Department Government of Odisha said: “Odisha is building infrastructure for the next era of mobility. With deep‑tech innovators like BonV Aero leading indigenous capability, Rangeilunda will become a national proving ground where regulators and industry jointly shape the low‑altitude economy. Our goal is to contribute to national policy, not merely implement it.” Aligned with the B‑MAAN scheme, the corridor will be developed in phases, enabling swarm testing, AI‑driven navigation, autonomous airspace management, and high‑density UAV operations. It will be place for verification and validation of systems.

Satyabrata Satapathy, CEO and Co‑Founder of BonV Aero, said the corridor will dramatically accelerate India’s technology readiness. “This ecosystem allows us to validate autonomy stacks, propulsion systems, and mission reliability in real‑world conditions. It gives Indian startups a credible launchpad to scale globally. Rangeilunda is about testing where aviation truly happens — with startups, researchers, and regulators sharing the same airspace.” The initiative seeks to formally recognise the low‑altitude airspace layer as a new national infrastructure asset — as critical as highways, ports, and digital spectrum — enabling safe, regulated, and large‑scale deployment of UAV technologies.

 Rangeilunda will also operate as a regulatory sandbox for BVLOS operations, leveraging its coastal and hinterland terrain to support missions in defence logistics, commercial delivery, disaster response, and surveillance. BonV Aero’s recent achievements — including a 60‑km BVLOS mission carrying a 20‑kg payload and setting a world record for heavy‑lift drone operations at high altitudes — have drawn global attention. The Odisha government sees BonV Aero as a powerful example of how indigenous deep‑tech can compete internationally. With BonV Aero as its technology champion, Odisha is positioning itself as a national hub for unmanned aviation, aerospace innovation, and next‑generation mobility systems.