UAV Developments in India : News and Discussions

India is quietly going ahead with an ambitious programme to develop its own stealth UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles) or 'smart' drones capable of firing missiles and bombs at enemy targets with precision.

Talking about the secretive AURA (autonomous unmanned research aircraft) programme for the first time, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) told TOI that the aim is to develop the UCAVs for IAF in seven to eight years.

"With Rs 50 crore as seed money, a full-fledged project team with 15-18 scientists has already begun work on the UCAV's preliminary design and technology. With on-board mission computers, data links, fire control radars, identification of friend or foe, and traffic collision avoidance systems, they will be highly intelligent drones," DRDO's chief controller R&D (aeronautics) Dr Prahlada said.



"Capable of flying at altitudes of 30,000 feet and weighing less than 15 tonnes, the UCAVs will have rail-launching for the missiles, bombs and PGMs (precision-guided munitions) they will carry," he added.

The realisation that UCAVs are "game-changers in modern-day warfare" has been reinforced by the successful use of American 'Predator' and 'Reaper' drones, armed with Hellfire and other missiles, against the Taliban in the Af-Pak region.

"But unlike Predators, which are like aircraft, our UCAVs will be more of 'a flying-wing' in design. This will ensure they have a low radar cross-section to evade enemy sensors," said Dr Prahlada.

Pakistan, incidentally, has been after the US to get Predators but so far has only managed to extract assurances for supply of the unarmed 'Shadow' drones for intelligence-gathering missions.

DRDO, on its part, is confident of developing the UCAVs mainly on its own, with "some foreign consultancy or collaboration" in fields like stealth as well as autonomous short-run take-off and landing.

Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) at Bangalore is the main nodal DRDO lab for the AURA project, with others like Defence Avionics Research Establishment (Bangalore), Defence Electronics Application Lab (Dehradun) and Gas Turbine Research Establishment (Bangalore) chipping in.

As earlier reported by TOI, apart from spy drones, India already has some "killer" drones like Israeli Harpy and Harop UAVs. These drones basically act as cruise missiles by detecting and then destroying specific enemy targets and radars by exploding into them.

UCAVs are much more advanced, almost like fighter jets in the sense that they let loose missiles on enemy targets before returning to home bases to re-arm themselves for the next mission.

IAF is also exploring "add-ons or attachments" to its existing fleet of Israeli Heron and Searcher-II UAVs to upgrade them from their present surveillance and precision-targeting roles into some sort of combat drones.

Note :

* UAVs are major force-multipliers for their ability to send back real-time imagery of enemy targets with their sensors and cameras. They are cost-effective and eliminate risk of aircrew being killed since they are remotely-piloted from far away.

* Armed drones like 'Predators', controlled through satellites from thousands of miles away, are being used to fire 'Hellfire' missiles to devastating effect against the Taliban in Af-Pak region.

* UCAVs (combat UAVs) being currently developed may well replace manned fighter jets in the years ahead for medium and long-range tactical as well as strategic bombing missions.

 

Not India but interesting.

Fort Benning Military Robot Demo - YouTube

It is expected for robots to outnumber US military in ten years.

 

For faster development, DRDO's role should be only about drawing detailed specification and outsource the design, developent and production, with time bound results, to other companies. many companies apart from HAL can do it.

 

In 4/2013 India rejected Israeli offer joint development of next version of Predator UAV

 

Lakshya UAV fails to take off.

BALASORE :The Indian Air Force (IAF) authorities on Thursday aborted a mission to test Russia made short range air-to-air missile against objects flown from a defence base off the Odisha coast as the pilotless target aircraft (PTA) failed to take off.

Reliable sources said the unmanned aerial vehicle - Lakshya - which was to be flown from the launching complex-II of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea could not take off due to technical snags.

“The test was scheduled to take place between 9 am and 10 am. It was, however, aborted at the last minute due to a malfunction in the PTA motor. Though the test was rescheduled for 5 pm, the faults could not be rectified by then, forcing the mission team to postpone the test to Friday,” said the sources.

As per the programme set for a series of trials of the non-DRDO Russian missile by the IAF, Sukhoi and MiG 29 fighter aircraft had to fire weapons targeting the tow body released from the PTA.

Though the aircraft had already taken off from Kalaikunda air base near Kharagpur in West Bengal and taken one sortie over Balasore sky, those were commanded to return back because of the technical glitches.

A defence official said in order to closely imitate battle scenario, the targets should be able to simulate enemy aircraft or remotely operated vehicles and achieve speed close to that of real incoming missiles or fighter jets.

These air-to-air missiles were procured by India from Russia for IAF. The missile is intended to provide protection against air strikes by manned or unmanned air vehicles flying at low and medium altitudes.

The aim and objective of the mission was to gauge the effectiveness of the missile and killing capabilities mid-air. The missile has been developed to be used against aircraft, surface-to-air and air-to-air weapons.

Sources said the Russian missile has the capability to efficiently engage targets at a range of 15 kms, at a minimum altitude of six kms in less than 10 seconds. “The efficiency of the weapons kept for long can be validated through such tests. The missiles to be used for the test have been selected randomly from the lot,” said a defence official.

This mission is crucial for the IAF, the user of the Russian missile. If all the preparations go according to the plan and the faults in the PTA fixed, another exercise will be conducted at 9 am on Friday.

Tech Glitches Abort Missile Test -The New Indian Express

 

What about Aurora Intergration UAV's ?? are they not good enough for BSF or ITPB or CRPF use??

1. UAV Urban View

2.ALTIUS Mk1

3.ALTIUS MK2

4.Sky Dot

 

Tarmak007 -- A bold blog on Indian defence: Video of MAV Imperial Eagle (Indian Eagle) in operation

 

WHO will command the UCAVs? Surely Navy will have some, and definitely Air force, but would Army have some share of drones to work for precision CAS roles?

 

Articles are very useful and informative for every one.

 

Drone industry awaits DGCA guidelines
Published March 1, 2015
SOURCE: Bangalore Mirror



Almost 18 months after the UAV market projected dreams of pizza and courier being delivered to you by drones, the industry is now in a limbo.

Post-October, with no clear-cut guidelines, the business that was in full swing has come to a stand-still. The recently held Aero India 2015 witnessed fewer stalls by private companies manufacturing drones as compared to last year.

Only the state-owned aerospace and defence companies like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) were there, besides Boeing and Israel Aerospace Industry (IAI). Boeing is looking at deploying UAVs with 24-hour endurance but India is yet to kick-start its mission even with minor projects in the civilian sector.

The poor showing at the air show was an indication of the Indian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) industry lacking lustre. Many start-ups are waiting for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to come up with guidelines to resume business. In October 2014, DGCA decided to ban drones from the national airspace until the rules were formulated. Nihar Varthak, co-founder and director, Asterial Aerospace, one of the start-ups and Bengaluru-based UAV designers said, “We started three years ago when the UAV market was booming; but after October, there was a sudden ban which hit the mushrooming of the industry. The DGCA keeps saying they will come up with fresh guidelines on the operations of the industry. We hope it happens within six months so we have clarity about our operations.”

Globally, the mini-UAV market is expected to reach $ 1.9 billion by 2020. But grappling with multiple problems would be a serious challenge for private players. Over the last year, there have been so many regulations in the industry that operators find themselves at the receiving end.

The DGCA decided to tighten the rules and declared that they can be used only by the Ministry of Defence. Many were forced to shut shop.
In the US, the Federal Aviation Administration assigned the responsibility to the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), which regulates the industry. They limit the civil usage to areas like agricultural land and in non-populated areas. The industry insiders here feel a similar model could be replicated. They are trying to set up AUVSI’s India Chapter.

 

AS ARMED FORCES LOOK OUTSIDE FOR DRONES, DESPERATE ADE READIES RUSTOM-2 FOR FLIGHT

At a time when Indian armed forces are increasingly looking outside the country for drones, Israel being a top destination, the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) a defence research and development lab marred by delays and faults is readying Rustom-II, a long endurance unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) for its first flight.
BANGALORE: At a time when Indian armed forces are increasingly looking outside the country for drones, Israel being a top destination, the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) a defense research and development lab marred by delays and faults is readying Rustom-II, a long endurance unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) for its first flight.
The first flight of the UCAV, which is in the medium-altitude, long endurance (MALE) category of vehicles, was first scheduled in late 2013. A three-year delay to conduct the first flight only adds to the timeline, which is punctuated by other delays during development.
ADE Director MVKV Prasad, along with other top officials from the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) visited their facility in Challakere, about 200-km from Bangalore on Monday, where the first flight will happen.

More than two sources in the ADE said that the director was there to oversee the ongoing preparations for the maiden flight of Rustom-II, bagging orders for which is a priority for ADE, as the Ministry of Defense (MoD) already has contracts signed with Israeli companies and talks on procuring some combat drones from the US are ongoing.
"The entire team is working on it with full force, the first flight is likely soon, but I cannot comment on the date at this juncture," Prasad told TOI, confirming the developments.
However, even if the first flight, which is likely to happen in the coming week or the next is successful, Rustom-II will need at least another year before it gets the required certification. Still not confident about the project, the ADE has remained tight-lipped about the project with no official comments offered on it.
Former ADE director P Srikumar had told TOI earlier that the Rustom-II will be an aircraft unlike any other UAV in the ranks of our forces. It has a wingspan of more than 20m and an endurance of 24-30 hours.
He had said that the UCAV, equipped with contemporary technology, will need a runway to takeoff and land unlike traditional UAVs, which makes it more trustworthy. Compared to Rustom-I, the advanced version will have enhanced aerodynamic configuration, digital flight control and navigation system.
"It will also have automatic takeoff and landing capabilities, this version of Rustom is comparable to some of the best in the world," sources in ADE said. While the ADE hopes to bag orders from all the three wings of the armed forces—army, navy and the air force—its ability to stick to deadlines and also give a good quality platform will be key.
The Indian army, which had inducted DRDO's earlier UAV Nishanth had to face several crashes and is contemplating junking it with no fresh induction planned.

http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2016/11/as-armed-forces-look-outside-for-drones.html

 

BREAKING NEWS
Rustom 2 first flight successful with perfect take off and landing.
Reported by IADN

 

[QUOTE="SilentSpectator, post: 506439, member: 19072G NEWS
Rustom 2 first flight successful with perfect take off and landing.
Reported by IADN[/QUOTE]

Correct news. Tarmak007 too reporting the same.

@PARIKRAMA @Abingdonboy @R!CK @anant_s @Agent_47

Good news ?

 

DRDO's combat drone Rustom-2 flies for the first time

BENGALURU: After a considerable delay, Rustom-2, India's long endurance Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) finally completed its first flight early on Tuesday in Challakere, about 200km from Bengaluru.

The UCAV, which is in the medium-altitude, long endurance (MALE) category of vehicles, sources in the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), which developed the vehicle said "met all the expectations" during the first flight.

First scheduled in late 2013, the three year delay of the first flight had only added to the timeline, which is punctuated by other delays during development- even as the Indian armed forces are increasingly looking outside the country for combat drones with deals already struck with Israeli firms.

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Rustom-2, the developers however claim will be an aircraft unlike any other UAV in the ranks of our forces. It has a wingspan of more than 20m and an endurance of 24-30 hours.




Equipped with contemporary technology, it will need a runway to takeoff and land unlike traditional UAVs, which makes it more trustworthy. Compared to Rustom-I, the advanced version will have enhanced aerodynamic configuration, digital flight control and navigation system.
Latest Comment
Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) Excellent Work, waiting for AMCA as well....Pranjul Dwivedi


"Besides, it will also have automatic takeoff and landing capabilities, this version of Rustom is comparable to some of the best in the world," sources in ADE said.




While the ADE hopes to bag orders from all the three wings of the armed forces— army, navy and the air force— its ability to stick to deadlines and also give a good quality platform will be key. The Indian army, which had inducted DRDO's earlier UAV Nishanth, had to face several crashes and is contemplating junking it with no fresh induction planned.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...s-for-the-first-time/articleshow/55450539.cms

 

Atleast some thing will never change!!