The Indian state of Karnataka is to open a dedicated drone testing hub in Chikkaballapura. According to a post on X by Karnataka IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge, the proposed facility will cover 19.26 acres at Jeedarahalli village in Chintamani taluk.
The minister said the new facility will provide dedicated runways, segregated airspace and testing infrastructure for advanced drone technologies, including beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, endurance, safety and certification trials.
“Developed with Drone Federation India as the implementation partner, the hub will support startups, manufacturers, researchers, defence users and industry in testing and validating next-generation aerial systems,” he said. “We want to give innovators the infrastructure to move from the lab to flight and commercialisation, strengthening Karnataka’s leadership in drone technologies and future air mobility.”
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