Login With Google
Rustom 2 UAV
.
Why is it in news?
India’s Rustom 2 UAV drone was successfully flown recently.
- India’s under-development Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Rustom-2 was successfully test-flown on Sunday by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
- This flight assumes significance because of the fact that this is the first flight in user configuration with a higher power engine.
- The flight was conducted at the DRDO’s Aeronautical Test Range at Chitradurga in Karnataka.
- Rustom-2 belongs to a family of UAVs under development, besides Rustom-1 and Rustom-H. It is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance drone (MALE). It can fly up to an altitude of 22,000 feet and has an endurance of over 20 hours. It is capable of carrying payloads for electronic and signal intelligence missions.
- Currently, the three services employ hundreds of Israeli drones and have projected a requirement of hundreds of more UAVs, including armed variants, in the near future. The DRDO is also developing other drones in different categories.
About Rustom UAVs
- The DRDO Rustom is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance unmanned air vehicle (UAV) being developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation for the three services, Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force of the Indian Armed Forces.
- Rustom means Warrior
- Rustom is derived from the NAL's LCRA (Light Canard Research Aircraft) developed by a team under the leadership of late Prof Rustom Damania in the 1980s.
- The UAV will have structural changes and a new engine.
- Rustom will replace/supplement the Heron UAVs in service with the Indian armed forces.
Source
PIB, The Hindu