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DRDO Rustom-2 Drone features, specification, capabilities details
DRDO Successfully Test Flights Its Rustom-2 Drone on 25th February 2018-Details, Features, Background
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test flights its Rustom-2 or ‘TAPAS-BH-201’on 25th February 2018 from Karnataka.
The Rustom-2 drone successfully took flight from Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) at Chalakere in Chitradurga, Karnataka. The flight assumed significant, as this was the first flight in user configuration with higher power engine.
The Rustom-2 drone is a medium-altitude, long-endurance, Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV), indigenously developed along the lines of predator drones of the United States.
The Rustom-2 drone aims to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) roles for the armed forces with an endurance of 24 hours.
The Rustom-2 drone around 9.5 metre long and stands 2.4 metres tall with the wingspan of 20.6 metres. It can fly at 280 kmph of speed and can extend to a height of 22,000 feet in the sky.
The Rustom-2 drone is propelled by two 3-bladed NPO saturn engines. Its tail section comes with T-type vertical stabiliser and high-mounted horizontal tailplane.
The Rustom-2 drone is capable of flying various combinations of payloads which include synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence systems, situational awareness systems and direct energy weapons.
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has been designed and developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) and aerospace giants Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd as its production partners.
As per DRDO officials, the Rustom-2 drone test flight was "successful" and all its parameters were "normal".
Around Rs1,500-crore UAV project was initiated considering the requirement of all Indian Armed Forces- Army, Navy and Air Force.
The DRDO has so far developed three variants of Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) which includes Rustom-1, Rustom H and Rustom-2.
The Rustom-1, Rustom H had been tested before. The Rustom-2 is the latest variant and is capable of carrying out combat operations.
These all variants of drones have been named after Rustom Damania, a former professor of Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
