DRDO developed Rustom UAV crashes in its maiden flight

RDO's efforts to indigenously produce a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV has received a setback after the technology demonstrator (TD) of Rustom UAV, crashed near Hosur, while on its maiden test flight. A release by DRDO said, “Due to misjudgement of the altitude of the flight, the on-board engine was switched off through ground command which made the onboard thrust developed to go to zero.”

The release also confirmed that the take-off and landing of Rustom TD took place exactly in the manner as it was planned. DRDO also said that it was the first flight of its kind using a 700-kg airframe and sophisticated controls and hence prone to development hazards. The trials are being conducted to test the functioning of number of systems such as aerodynamics, redundant flight control, engine, redundant data link etc which go a long way towards development of complex UAVs.

Rustom is being developed to replace medium altitude long-range UAV Herons manufactured by Israel, which the armed forces use as of now. Rustom which has a wingspan of 20 metres and weighs 1,800 kg will be launched by conventional methods and not the launcher as in the case of the Lakshya and Nishant. Rustom will be able to see the enemy territory up to a distance of 250 km and carry a variety of cameras and radar for surveillance.

A mark-up of the 1,800kg UAV was showcased for the public at the Aero India 2009 (ExpressBuzz). The DRDO is also in the process of setting up a dedicated UAV test range in Chitradurga by 2011 as announced by the Chief Controller (Research and Development) Dr. Prahalada during ‘Aerosem’ 2008.

Earlier this year in April, DRDO had successfully tested the Nishant UAV by using the indigenously developed Wankel engine. The Wankel engine is being developed to replace the imported engines in Nishant UAV. The DRDO over the years has come under a lot of drubbing for its failed attempts to indigenously develop the Trishul Missile System and Arjun tanks.

However, there are a lot of products, which the DRDO has successfully developed and are being used by the Indian armed forces. This includes Samyuktha electronic warfare (EW) system, EW suites designed for the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force titled Sangraha and Tempest have been very successful. The Tarang Radar Warning Receiver (RWR), a key aircraft EW component, has been successfully installed in the upgraded IAF MiG-21 fighters, the MiG-27 strike planes and the incomparable Su-30MKI air-dominance fighters. Another EW component, the Tusker Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) pod, is also in IAF service.

Many navy vessels such as the Rajput class and Veer class ships use DRDO's Ajanta Electronic Support Measures (ESM) system. Under the Sangraha EW program, DRDO has completed the development of five types of EW systems. Sanket, an ESM system for patrol boats has already been ordered by the navy. An airborne EW system called KITE has also been successfully tested.