BluJ Aerospace, a Hyderabad-based deep-tech aerospace company, has unveiled the Gen #2 prototype, the first aircraft developed on its VANTIS platform-based architecture after four years of in-house research and development.
The new prototype follows Gen #1, which served as the company’s technology demonstrator and India’s first public flight demonstration of a 500 kg class eVTOL aircraft. BluJ said Gen #2 is now undergoing active flight testing.
The company stated that Gen #2 represents the first commercial-grade aircraft developed on the VANTIS architecture and has been purpose-built for heavy-payload logistics operations.
Platform-based aviation strategy
VANTIS serves as the shared technology foundation across all aircraft being developed by BluJ Aerospace, covering the airframe, propulsion systems, controls and autonomy technologies.
According to the company, the platform-based approach enables faster development cycles, lower development costs and improved operational performance, as every aircraft variant benefits from systems already validated on previous versions.
Gen #2 has been designed with an active payload target exceeding 200 kg, while operating under a 500 kg maximum take-off weight. The aircraft uses a lift-plus-cruise configuration and is fully battery-powered.
BluJ Aerospace said the aircraft is now being used for customer pilots, payload testing and real-world logistics mission evaluations as the company gradually expands the operational missions the platform can undertake.
Focus on scalable VTOL ecosystem
The company said VANTIS has been designed for scalability and will support larger VTOL aircraft variants in the future, including one-ton payload class logistics aircraft and hydrogen-electric long-range passenger variants.
BluJ Aerospace, Founder and CEO, Amar Sri Vatsavaya, said, “The next major shift in aviation is the move from single product programs to platform based architectures. Just as the automotive industry builds multiple vehicles on a common platform, Advanced Air Mobility will need adaptable architectures that scale across missions, payloads, and customer use cases. That is the advantage VANTIS gives BluJ. Our platform based approach lets us develop multiple AAM product classes efficiently and at scale.”
Expanding commercial and defence partnerships
BluJ Aerospace said its commercial pipeline currently spans infrastructure logistics, express cargo, energy, airports and defence sectors.
The company added that it has already completed a pilot deployment with a leading power sector PSU for infrastructure logistics and has active partnerships with a major defence PSU and Indian defence companies.
On the hydrogen-electric propulsion front, BluJ Aerospace said it has already developed a ground version of the system, including an in-house Type IV composite hydrogen tank, and is now progressing toward a flight-ready version.
The company is targeting hydrogen-electric long-range variants between 2027 and 2028 and is collaborating with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Cochin International Airport Limited on hydrogen ecosystem development.
Investors back aerospace platform vision
Endiya Partners, Managing Director, Sateesh Andra, said, “India runs one of the largest logistics economies in the world, but it still moves on aircraft and infrastructure designed elsewhere. Aerial mobility is a rare category where Indian deep-tech can build globally relevant aerospace IP from the ground up, and that needs founders willing to bet years on getting the engineering right. BluJ Aerospace’s Gen 2 flight is proof that the hard work is paying off. From long-range cargo to the regional passenger mobility India needs next, they are building what comes after the runway.”
Ideaspring Capital, Managing Partner, Naganand Doraswamy, said, “Deep-tech categories that compound, from semiconductors to robotics and now aerospace, are won by teams that build platforms, not single products. India has had the engineering talent for decades, but very few teams have applied that platform discipline to aircraft. That is what BluJ has done with VANTIS, and Gen #2 is the first commercial output of an architecture we expect will shape how India shows up in global aerospace over the next decade.”
Hyderabad facility and patent portfolio
BluJ Aerospace operates from a 40,000 square foot facility in Hyderabad and has a team of more than 50 engineers and aerospace specialists.
The company said it already holds an issued design patent for its eVTOL architecture, has filed a utility patent for its airframe design and has additional patents in process across propulsion and powertrain systems.