Brahmand NewsPrevious Article
Brahmand NewsNext Article
Aero India 2023

Rustom-II UAV successfully completes maiden test flight


India's indigenously developed long-endurance combat-capable drone, Rustom-II. Photo: Twitter/DRDO

NEW DELHI (PTI): Rustom-II, India's indigenously developed long-endurance combat-capable drone, on Wednesday successfully completed its maiden-flight, giving a boost to India's development programme for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV).

The DRDO successfully carried out the maiden-flight of TAPAS 201 (RUSTOM II), a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV. It has an endurance of 24 hours and can conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the country's armed forces.

The UAV can also be used as an unmanned armed combat vehicle on the lines of the US's Predator drone.

The test flight took place from Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, 250 km from Bangalore, which is a newly developed flight test range for the testing of UAVs and manned aircraft.

The flight accomplished the main objectives of proving the flying platform, such as take-off, bank, level flight and landing among others, a statement by the Defence Ministry said.

TAPAS 201 has been designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), the Bangalore-based lab of DRDO with HAL-BEL as the production partners.

The UAV weighing two tonnes was put into air by a dedicated team of young scientists of DRDO. It was piloted (external and internal) by the pilots from the armed forces.

It is also the first R&D prototype UAV which has undergone certification and qualification for the first flight from the Center for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC) and Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA).

TAPAS 201, a multi-mission UAV is being developed to carry out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) roles for the three armed forces with an endurance of 24 hours.

It can carry different combinations of payloads like Medium Range Electro Optic (MREO), Long Range Electro Optic (LREO), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), Communication Intelligence (COMINT) and Situational Awareness Payloads (SAP) to perform missions during day and night.

Many critical systems such as airframe, landing gear, flight control and avionics sub-systems are being developed in India with the collaboration of private industries.

Rustom-II will undergo further trials for validating the design parameters, before going for User Validation Trials.

Tags:

India  Rustom  UAV  DRDO  Military  

Other Related News

Tri-service firepower, manoeuvre exercise 'Bharat Shakti' begins in Pokhran

The mega 'Bharat Shakti' exercise to demonstrate the prowess of indigenously manufactured defence equipment of the three services began in Rajasthan's Pokhran firing range on Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Army Chief General Manoj Pande in attendance.

BRAHMOS Missile Systems

Headlines

Brahmand World Defence Update 2023

Brahmand World Defence Update

Image Gallery