Bengaluru-based startup Aspera Industries has unveiled Eureka, an autonomous amphibious aircraft designed to transport cargo faster and at a lower cost than conventional air freight.
Founder and CEO Khushi Mittal announced the aircraft on Saturday, positioning it as an alternative for moving urgent, perishable and high-value goods that currently face a choice between slow sea freight and expensive air cargo.
Eureka is designed to take off and land on water, enabling it to operate without conventional airports or dedicated runway infrastructure. The aircraft is planned to carry a payload of up to 1,000 kg at an altitude of 6,500 feet above mean sea level, with a stated range of 2,000 km.
Mittal said around 80% of global trade continues to move by sea, while manufacturers often maintain three to six weeks of buffer inventory to absorb shipping delays. She said air freight can cost roughly 20 times more than transporting the same cargo by sea, making the cost of flying a key engineering challenge.
According to Aspera, Eureka uses water as its runway and is designed to access coastal locations across a large global network. The company says 150 of the world’s 193 countries have coastlines, while many cities, ports and industrial centres have historically developed around waterways.
The aircraft uses retractable hydrofoils instead of the stepped hulls traditionally associated with seaplanes. Aspera says the design is intended to reduce drag during flight while retaining the ability to operate from water.
The startup is targeting cargo transport costs of below $1 per tonne-kilometre for its initial aircraft. At fleet scale, it expects costs to fall below 50 cents per tonne-kilometre.
Aspera said the combination of autonomous operation, water-based take-off and landing, and lower operating costs could create a new logistics option for time-sensitive cargo, potentially reducing delivery times from weeks to hours.