Key Highlights:
Deepinder Goyal initiates LAT Aerospace to create India’s first domestic designed and manufactured gas turbine jet engine.
STOL aircraft and drone focus to enhance regional air connectivity.
Engineer-first culture: rapid development, no red tape, 100% made in India.
Key Background:
India has been attempting to produce indigenous jet engines for a long time, something that started in earnest with the Kaveri engine program in the 1980s. While starting with momentum, the project was wrecked by technological issues and never went into operation. India still remains highly reliant on foreign-manufactured propulsion systems for defense and civil aviation applications. LAT Aerospace is a fresh attempt to bridge this critical gap, but this time not driven by the defense establishment or government, but by a technology entrepreneur who has in the past transformed India’s food delivery market.
Deepinder Goyal’s move from Zomato’s operations to space innovation might seem like thinking out-of-the-box, but it’s driven by the same set of principles—scaling infrastructure, begining from a clean slate, and solving inefficiencies. LAT Aerospace is co-founded with Surobhi Das, former COO of Zomato, and they work towards making efficient compact propulsion systems for a new generation of Indian-designed STOL aircraft. The plane will be crucial in linking small towns and cities where there is no or limited traditional airport infrastructure.
Unlike past efforts, bogged down in bureaucracy and decentralized execution, Goyal’s approach is based on a culture of startups. Engineers are meant to work directly with components, experiment with new ideas in specially designated laboratories, and construct and deconstruct rapidly. Goyal is deliberately avoiding corporate formality for speed, root-cause analysis, and experimentation.
India has over 450 airstrips, but fewer than 150 are usable. LAT Aerospace’s proposed aircraft will utilize smaller, quickly deployable air-stops, enabling regular and low-cost flights. That answer aligns with national goals of regional connectivity under initiatives like UDAN but introduces a private-sector solution that avoids legacy constraints.
Financially, the project is funded by personal investments as well as early investors who believe that India can become a serious player in the global aerospace industry. The $50 million of funding will be utilized for R&D, hiring talent and setting up manufacturing processes that can be scaled.
If successful, LAT Aerospace will not only provide India with its first native jet engine but shake up the world’s aerospace giants by exporting tight, compact propulsion systems. For India, it would be a turning point to emerge as a high-tech manufacturing giant, seizing control of one of the most strategic industries of the future.
