Bangalore
Bengaluru-based Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace has unveiled the FWD Supreme, an indigenous AI-piloted fighter aircraft concept aimed at advancing autonomous aerial combat capabilities in India. The company plans to conduct the maiden flight of its FWD Supreme Lite technology demonstrator in Q3 2026.
Unlike conventional remotely piloted unmanned aircraft, the FWD Supreme is being designed around artificial intelligence capable of autonomous navigation, sensor fusion, threat identification, decision-making and mission execution with minimal human intervention.
The program is based on what the company calls the “Mobbing Doctrine”, under which multiple lower-cost AI-controlled aircraft would operate cooperatively against high-value adversary platforms. Networked autonomy and coordinated operations are intended to enable groups of aircraft to continue a mission even if individual platforms are lost.
Development is being undertaken at the company’s Bengaluru facility by a team that includes veterans of Indian combat-aircraft programs. The effort is led by Girish Dixit, former Secretary of the Aeronautical Development Agency, alongside specialists with experience in the TEJAS program, airframe design, propulsion, avionics and weapons integration.
Two variants are planned. The approximately 250-kg FWD Supreme Lite will serve as the initial technology demonstrator, validating AI navigation, autonomous operations and cooperative behaviour. A larger one-ton FWD Supreme Heavy is envisioned for ISR, strike, collaborative combat and autonomous operations in contested environments.
For its initial phase, Flying Wedge is targeting speeds of up to Mach 0.9, cruise speeds around Mach 0.5, and a mission-dependent range of approximately 700–1,000 km, together with autonomous take-off, mission execution and recovery.
A subsequent development phase envisages performance approaching Mach 2, low-observable characteristics, enhanced AI mission autonomy and multi-aircraft teaming.
The FWD Supreme remains an ambitious development program whose capabilities will need to be demonstrated through flight testing. The planned Q3 2026 flight of the Supreme Lite will therefore be an important milestone in assessing Flying Wedge’s progress toward an indigenous autonomous combat-aircraft platform and India's broader push into AI-enabled aerial warfare.On Date: