Bengaluru: Asteria Aerospace Limited, a full stack drone technology company, has
received India’s first micro category drone type certification for its indigenously designed A200 drone from
the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Asteria’s A200 drone was found to be fully compliant
with the Certification Scheme for Unmanned Aircraft Systems notified in January 2022.

Asteria’s A200 drone has been developed for surveying and mapping applications in GIS, agriculture,
construction, mining, and other industries. The A200 has a survey grade GPS and a high-resolution imaging
camera which can be used to accurately map land parcels, making it ideal for projects like the SVAMITVA
scheme, in which the government is using drones to digitize and establish clear ownership of property in
rural parts of the country. In agriculture, the A200 drone can be used for precision mapping of farms to
accurately monitor crop growth and health, assess damage, and capture visual records for insurance
claims amongst other purposes. The micro-sized drone from Asteria can also be used by Remote Pilot
Training Organizations to impart pilot training to individuals seeking to acquire Remote Pilot Certificate.

On the certification issued, Neel Mehta, Co-founder and Director of Asteria Aerospace Limited, said, “It
is a matter of great pride for us to receive the first micro category drone certification from the DGCA. The
certification makes Asteria’s A200 drone fully compliant with the Drone Rules 2021, which is a requirement
for drone operations in India. We are committed to leading the way in providing best-in-class, compliant
drones to our customers to fulfil applications at scale.”

The A200 drone is a rugged, reliable, and performance-driven multirotor drone that weighs less than 2 kg
and has advanced features including automated take-off and landing, multiple fail-safes, single pilot
operation, tool-less assembly and disassembly, and a flight time of up to 40 minutes. It is available with
survey-grade PPK GPS and both RGB imaging and Multispectral imaging camera options, making it an ideal
surveying and mapping drone for applications across industries.

The DGCA categorizes drones based on their weight. Drones with an all-up-weight of 250 g to 2 kg fall
under the micro category of drones. The drone certification scheme was introduced by the Quality Council
of India, which consulted experts from the industry, government, and academia to build the scheme. The
drone certification scheme is brought into effect to facilitate the production of quality drones in India that
can exported across the world.

DeshGujarat