India's premier defence research institute
DRDO today carried out "successful" test flight
of its Rustom 2 drone, a medium-altitude long-endurance
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), at Chalakere
in Karnataka's Chitradurga district.
Rustom 2 is being developed on the lines of
predator drones of the US to carry out surveillance
and reconnaissance (ISR) roles for the armed
forces with an endurance of 24 hours, officials
said.
"DRDO successfully flew its Rustom 2 today
at its Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) at Chalakere
at Chitradurga.
This flight assumes significance due to the
fact that this is the first flight in user
configuration with higher power engine," a
statement read.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) said the test flight was "successful"
and all its parameters were "normal".
Rustom 2 is capable of carrying different
combinations of payloads like synthetic aperture
radar, electronic intelligence systems and
situational awareness payloads, officials
said.
DRDO chairman S Christopher, its Director
General of Aeronautical System CP Ramanarayanan,
DG Electronics and Communication Systems J
Manjula and other senior scientists witnessed
the test flight.
The around Rs 1,500-crore UAV project was
initiated considering requirement of the the
Army, Navy and Air Force.
The UAV has been designed and developed by
Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE)
of the DRDO, and aerospace major Hindustan
Aeronautics Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd
are its production partners.
