NewSpace Research & Technologies
Table of Contents

⚠ Disclaimer: This entry may be incomplete, out of date, or inaccurate. It is AI-maintained on a best-effort basis. Do not rely on it as a sole source — verify claims independently using the sources listed below.

Summary

NewSpace Research & Technologies (NRT) is a Bengaluru, India-based aerospace and defense startup developing a solar-powered High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) intended for stratospheric surveillance missions, alongside a broader portfolio of drones for the Indian military. It holds a Ministry of Defence-backed iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) development contract for a full-scale HAPS aimed at the Indian Navy, with delivery expected around 2027, and has set incremental national endurance records with subscale prototypes en route to that goal.

Key Facts

  • Founded: 2018 (one media source states 2019; company materials and most press cite 2018)
  • HQ: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
  • Type: Private company (startup)
  • Status: Active — HAPS is a subscale, incremental flight-test program; the company also has multiple fielded/contracted non-HAPS drone products (swarm drones, tethered drones, the MAPSS medium-altitude surveillance UAV)
  • Key metrics: May 2024 flight reached 26,000 feet (7,925 m) for 27 hours, a national endurance record for an indigenous UAV; a December 2023 prototype flight exceeded 21 hours. The planned full-scale HAPS is reported to target a maximum takeoff weight of about 450 kg, wingspan of 24–25 meters, cruise altitude around 65,000 feet (20,000 m), a 35 kg payload, and up to 90 days of stratospheric endurance. Funding: total raised reported at roughly $73–80 million across multiple rounds, including a $21 million Series A (February 2022), $3.21 million pre-Series B (December 2022), and a ₹115 crore (~$13.3 million) debt round (announced August 2025).

What It Is / How It Works

NewSpace Research & Technologies was founded by Sameer Joshi, a former Indian Air Force fighter pilot, along with co-founders Julius Amrit and Dilip Chabria. The company develops what it calls “persistent drones” for earth observation and communications, and has grown into a broader defense-unmanned-systems supplier to the Indian armed forces, with products spanning swarm loitering munitions (the Sheshnaag family), tethered surveillance drones, and multi-rotor/hybrid platforms (BELUGA, NIMBUS, MACKEREL) in addition to its HAPS program.

NRT’s HAPS is a fixed-wing, solar-electric aircraft designed to generate power from onboard solar panels during the day and fly on battery power through the night, intended to operate in the stratosphere — above roughly 65,000 feet — for extended surveillance missions including electro-optical/infrared imaging, synthetic aperture radar, signals intelligence, and communications relay, with the aim of bridging the gap between satellites (infrequent revisit) and conventional long-endurance drones (limited to roughly a day aloft). The program is being developed incrementally: subscale prototypes have progressively extended flight duration and altitude in tests at the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga, Karnataka, ahead of a planned full-scale stratospheric platform. The program is backed by the Ministry of Defence’s iDEX initiative, and India’s Ministry of Defence disclosed in July 2026 that it had approved acquisition of a fixed-wing HAPS capability without naming the specific developer or contract value; NRT is reported (alongside a separate government-run CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories program) to be one of two Indian organizations developing an indigenous fixed-wing HAPS, with its version intended for the Indian Navy and delivery expected around 2027.

Separately, in January 2026 the Indian Army placed a ₹168 crore order with NRT for the Medium Altitude Persistent Surveillance System (MAPSS), a solar-electric fixed-wing UAV that ThePrint reported is derived from — but distinct from — the stratospheric HAPS program, adapted instead for medium-altitude, long-endurance border and ISR missions. This reflects NRT’s broader pattern of using its HAPS-derived solar-electric airframe and power technology across multiple contracted defense products, not solely toward a single stratospheric aircraft.

Notable Developments

  • July 2026: India’s Ministry of Defence disclosed it had approved acquisition of a fixed-wing HAPS capability; NRT was reported as one of two indigenous developers pursuing such a system, with delivery to the Indian Navy targeted around 2027 and design goals of ~450 kg MTOW, 24–25 m wingspan, ~65,000 ft cruise altitude, 35 kg payload, and up to 90 days endurance.
  • January 2026: The Indian Army placed a ₹168 crore (~$19–20 million) order with NRT for the MAPSS solar-electric medium-altitude surveillance UAV, described as an evolution of NRT’s HAPS-program technology.
  • August 2025: NRT raised ₹115 crore (~$13.3 million) in debt funding led by Lend Lease Company India, with participation from angel investor Ahmed Nalwala, ARA Investment, and others.
  • May 2024: An NRT HAPS prototype completed a 27-hour flight at 26,000 feet, setting a new national endurance record for an indigenous unmanned aircraft, following an earlier 24-hour flight.
  • December 2023: An NRT HAPS prototype completed a flight exceeding 21 hours during a Winter Solstice trial — a deliberately low-sunlight test of the solar-electric system’s endurance.
  • April 2023: NRT raised $33 million in a reported Series B funding round (aggregate figure per Tracxn/TheKredible; not independently confirmed via a fetched primary source).
  • February 2022: NRT raised $21 million in a Series A funding round (per Tracxn/TheKredible; not independently confirmed via a fetched primary source).

Key People

Sameer Joshi — Founder & Chief Executive Officer LinkedIn: not found (unable to confirm the correct profile among multiple similarly named LinkedIn accounts in this review) Previously: Squadron Leader (Retd.), Indian Air Force — Mirage 2000 fighter pilot and Kargil War veteran. ⚑ Overlap: None identified in other named HALE/HAPS companies.

Julius Amrit — Co-founder LinkedIn: not found Previously: Not independently verified in this review. ⚑ Overlap: Not established in this review.

Dilip Chabria — Co-founder LinkedIn: not found Previously: Not independently verified in this review; publicly known in India as founder of automotive design firm DC Design, though this connection to NRT was not independently confirmed against a fetched source in this session. ⚑ Overlap: None identified.

People — Last Reviewed: 2026-08-03

Claim Verification

Claim: NRT’s HAPS prototype flew 27 hours at 26,000 feet in May 2024, setting a national endurance record.

Claim: NRT holds an iDEX contract to develop a full-scale HAPS for the Indian Navy, with delivery expected around 2027.

  • Status: Partially verified
  • Supporting sources: The Defense Post, July 2026; ThePrint, January 2026
  • Refuting/questioning sources: None — but note that India’s Ministry of Defence’s own July 2026 approval announcement did not name NRT or disclose contract specifics; the NRT attribution and 2027 delivery date come from press reporting, not an official MoD statement naming the company.
  • Summary: Reported consistently by Indian defense-press outlets, but the government has not officially named NRT as the contracted developer in the sources reviewed.

Claim: NRT was founded in 2018 by Sameer Joshi.

  • Status: Disputed (on founding year only)
  • Supporting sources: Startup Story, December 2022 (“established in 2018 by Sameer Joshi”)
  • Refuting/questioning sources: Entrackr, August 2025 states “Founded in 2019”
  • Summary: Most sources reviewed cite 2018; one dated 2025 source states 2019. The founder (Sameer Joshi) is consistent across all sources; only the exact founding year is disputed.

Claim: NRT has raised a total of roughly $73–80 million in funding across Series A, pre-Series B, and debt rounds.

  • Status: Partially verified
  • Supporting sources: Entrackr, August 2025 (confirms the ₹115 crore/$13.3M debt round and cites TheKredible's estimate of "over $80 million" total raised); Startup Story, December 2022 (confirms $3.21M pre-Series B and references an earlier $21M Series A, for a stated $33M total as of December 2022)
  • Refuting/questioning sources: None found, but the aggregate lifetime-funding figure relies on third-party aggregator data (TheKredible/Tracxn) rather than a company disclosure, and individual round sizes were not all independently confirmed via primary sources.
  • Summary: The most recent debt round (₹115 crore, August 2025) and the earliest rounds (Series A $21M, pre-Series B $3.21M) are corroborated by dated press reporting; the cumulative “$73–80 million” figure is aggregator-sourced and should be treated as approximate.

Sources

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