India Successfully Carries Out Maiden Flight Of Unmanned Aircraft
   02-Jul-2022

Unmanned Aircraft
 
 
The maiden flight of Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator was carried out successfully by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Aeronautical Test Range, Chitradurga, Karnataka.
 
The test, carried out from the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga, is being seen as an important milestone in the development of unmanned aircraft.
  
Operating in a fully autonomous mode, the aircraft exhibited a perfect flight, including take-off, way point navigation and a smooth touchdown. This flight marks a major milestone in terms of proving critical technologies towards the development of future unmanned aircraft and is a significant step towards self-reliance in such strategic defence technologies.” said a statement from the Ministry of Defence.
  
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO and termed it a major achievement towards autonomous aircraft, adding that it will pave the way for ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in terms of critical military systems. He tweeted in this regard.
 
 
 
"For long we have been waiting for advances in DRDO’s unmanned programme. The ‘flying wing’ is the design of most modern aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles in the world. The first successful flight reflects the technological advances India has made in this field,” said Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director-general, Centre for Air Power Studies.
 
 
It is a reduced sized autonomous aircraft and is proving various technologies for autonomous aircraft to be built in future, a DRDO official explained.
 
 
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is powered by a small turbofan engine. The airframe, undercarriage and entire flight control and avionics systems used for the aircraft were developed indigenously, DRDO said.