iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India has successfully conducted a flight trial of the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator, an indigenously developed 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,” said the Ministry of Defense in a statement.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO, the Armed Forces, and the industry for the successful flight trial of the system. He stated that the successful development of such critical technologies indigenously will further strengthen the Armed Forces. The secretary of the Department of Defense R&D, and Chairman of DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat also congratulated the DRDO and the teams associated with this successful flight trial.
This UAV is designed and developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment. The maiden flight of this aircraft was demonstrated in July 2022, followed by six flight trials in various developmental configurations using two in-house manufactured prototypes. “These flight tests led to the development of an aerodynamic and control system, integrated real-time and hardware-in-loop simulation, and state-of-the-art Ground Control Station. The team had optimized the avionic systems, integration, and flight operations towards the successful seventh flight in the final configuration,” the DRDO said in a statement.
The aircraft prototype, with a complex arrowhead wing platform, is designed and manufactured with lightweight carbon prepreg composite material developed indigenously. The autonomous landing of this high-speed UAV, without the need for ground radars, infrastructure, or pilot, showcased a unique capability demonstration, allowing take-off and landing from any runway with surveyed coordinates. This was possible using onboard sensor data fusion with indigenous satellite-based augmentation using GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) receivers to improve the accuracy and integrity of GPS navigation.