• DROVION, developed by ZARA9 Ltd, is evaluating Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and India as potential hubs for its development centre and production, alongside preparing a US$211 million staged funding programme to take the aircraft from engineering through to certification and production readiness.
• The hybrid-powered aircraft family—designed to operate across eCTOL, eSTOL and eVTOL configurations—targets a prototype by 2028 and certification by 2031, with applications spanning logistics, emergency response, defence and remote operations.
• Its core proposition centres on a modular platform and hybrid propulsion system combining electric flight with SAF or e-fuel-compatible power generation, aimed at overcoming range, payload and infrastructure constraints associated with battery-only aviation.
DROVION, a hybrid-powered advanced air mobility aircraft program developed by ZARA9 Ltd, is exploring strategic locations for its future development centre and production plant, with Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and India under review as potential host countries.
The company is preparing a staged funding program of $211 million to advance DROVION from detailed engineering through prototype manufacturing, flight testing, certification and production readiness. The current roadmap targets a first prototype by 2028 and certified aircraft by 2031.
DROVION is being developed as a versatile aircraft family covering eCTOL, eSTOL and eVTOL configurations. The platform is designed for logistics, emergency response, defense, reconnaissance, remote-area operations and future autonomous transport applications.
At the core of the aircraft concept is a hybrid redundant propulsion architecture designed to overcome key limitations of battery-only electric aviation. The system is intended to combine electric propulsion with SAF / e-fuel compatible power generation, enabling extended range, operational redundancy, in-flight battery charging and reduced dependency on ground-based charging infrastructure.
“Battery-only aviation has faced clear range, payload and infrastructure limitations,” said Kresimir Budinski, Founder and Managing Director of ZARA9 LTD. “DROVION is being designed around a more practical hybrid-electric architecture, combining electric take-off and landing capability with long-range, mission-flexible operations. Our goal is to deliver an aircraft family that can operate where conventional infrastructure is limited and where reliability, payload and endurance matter.”
The aircraft concept is based on a modular design philosophy. The same core platform is intended to support different operating modes, including conventional take-off and landing, short take-off and landing, and vertical take-off and landing through removable wing-pod architecture. This versatility is intended to allow operators to adapt the aircraft to mission requirements without developing separate aircraft platforms for each use case.
DROVION is currently evaluating countries that can support a full aerospace development ecosystem, industrial production capability, government support, certification alignment, export potential and strategic access to regional markets. Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and India are being reviewed for their potential to host development, manufacturing, technology transfer and long-term industrial cooperation.
The proposed funding program will support company expansion, engineering development, supplier engagement, propulsion development, prototype manufacturing, certification preparation, flight testing and production setup. DROVION expects to engage with strategic investors, sovereign development institutions, industrial partners and government-backed investment platforms.
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