Insta
New Drone Will Be Used For Surveillance And Not Combat, Says DRDO Chief
Successful maiden test flight of the Tapas carried out by DRDO (Wikimedia Commons)
The new unmanned aerial vehicle that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed and flight-tested recently, would be for surveillance and not combat, said a senior official on Sunday (20 November).
"The new UAV, re-christened Tapas from Rustom-2, has been developed for surveillance and not for combat purpose," DRDO Chairman S Christopher told reporters in Bengaluru.
The maiden flight of the Tactical Air-Borne Platform-Beyond Horizon (Tapas-BH 201) prototype was held on 16 November at the DRDO's new aeronautical testing range at Challakere near Chitradurga in Karnataka.
"We have to make 10 Tapas aircraft for a series of test flights before applying for certification and demonstrating it to the armed forces its surveillance capability in user trials," said Christopher.
The Rs 1,500-crore project for the indigenous medium-altitude long-endurance drone is meant to replace the Israeli-made Heron UAVs, which are in service with the armed forces.
With inputs from IANS
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
