The DRDO Friday successfully demonstrated the flight trial of Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator, an indigenous high-speed flying wing UAV from the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga in Karnataka.
With this flight in the tailless configuration, India has joined the elite club of countries that have mastered the controls for the Flying wing configuration.
This complex arrowhead wing unmanned aerial Vehicle is taking off from a runway in Karnataka in India. India’s own Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully carried out the flight trial of Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator, an indigenous high-speed flying-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) from the Aeronautical Test Range, Chitradurga in Karnataka.
The successful flying demonstration of this autonomous stealth UAV is a testimony to maturity in the technology readiness levels in the country. With this flight in the tailless configuration, India has joined the elite club of countries to have mastered the controls for the flying wing technology.
“The critical technologies involved have been proven in the improved final configuration now. The RPSA project, after the government sanctions it, will involve scaling up the size and the dimensions of the UAV with a new aero-engine,” a source said.
The ADE’s has been focusing on developing “stealthy” drones and aircraft, with a reduced radar cross-section to evade hostile air defence systems, which have autonomous take-off and landing capabilities. “The priority has to be on NGAD (next-generation air dominance) like the US and a few other countries,” he said.
After its maiden flight was conducted in July 2022, six flight trials of the flying-wing UAV with two prototypes in various developmental configurations have been carried out.
These flight-tests have led to the development of a robust aerodynamic and control system, integrated real-time and hardware-in-loop simulation, and state-of-the-art ground control station. “The development team optimized the avionic systems, integration and flight operations towards the successful seventh flight in the final configuration on Friday,” another official said.
The aircraft prototype, with a complex arrowhead wing platform, is designed and manufactured with “light-weight carbon prepreg composite material” developed indigenously.
“The autonomous landing of the UAV, without the need for ground radars, infrastructure and pilot, showcased a unique capability demonstration, allowing take-off and landing from any runway with surveyed coordinates,” he said. “This was possible using onboard sensor data fusion with indigenous satellite-based augmentation using GPS-aided GEO augmented navigation (GAGAN) receivers,”
Sources: Times of India; YouTube