Pilerne plant to manufacture critical composite aero-structures
Shoma Patnaik
Panaji : Japanese company SkyDrive’s project on electric flying cars (eVTOL aircraft) will soon have a Goa connect with manufacture of composite aero structures for SkyDrive’s production aircraft (model SD-05) taking place at Kineco Ltd, Pilerne plant.
The two companies entered into a strategic partnership at the Farnborough International Airshow 2026, UK, to manufacture critical composite aero-structures for the project.
SkyDrive is targeting full-scale commercial operations of the e-VTOL aircraft by 2028, and has included Kineco in its global supply chain. For Kineco, the tie-up marks the company’s entry into the advanced air mobility market, a rapidly growing sector of global aviation. It also establishes the state as an important manufacturing destination for next-generation electric aircraft.
At the Farnborough airshow, Kineco extended its partnership with FACC, one of the world’s leading aerospace manufacturers, through an additional composite work package supporting Airbus programmes.
The extension is after Kineco completed a qualification milestone with Airbus under long-term supply chain agreement. Production of composite components in the state is expected to start by the end of 2027.
Kineco launched a Composite Centre of Excellence (COE) for autonomous solutions at the airshow. The COE will provide integrated capabilities encompassing design support, engineering, tooling, prototype development, testing, qualification and serial production of advanced composite structures for autonomous platforms operating across air, land and sea.
Kineco also signed an MoU with the CT Engineering Group, UK, to jointly pursue opportunities for unmanned autonomous systems across aerial, land and maritime platforms. The MoU brings together CT Engineering’s expertise in product engineering with Kineco’s advanced composite manufacturing capabilities.
The MoU will enable customers to access integrated solutions spanning structural engineering, design optimisation, manufacturing engineering, tooling and serial production.
Kineco Group’s founder chairman and managing director Shekhar Sardessai said the Farnborough Airshow marked an important milestone in the company’s growth journey due to MoUs and tie-ups.
“Each announcement represents a significant achievement in its own right, together they reflect a clear strategic vision to build a globally competitive aerospace enterprise delivering advanced composite solutions across commercial aviation, defence, autonomous systems and advanced air mobility,” said Sardessai.
