The Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga, Karnataka, was used by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to successfully test fly the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator, an indigenous high-speed flying wing UAV.
The fact that this autonomous stealthy unmanned aerial vehicle has been able to fly successfully shows how advanced the country’s technology readiness levels are.
India is now one of only a few countries that can fly in the Flying wing configuration, thanks to this flight in the tailless configuration.
DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru, one of the agency’s top research labs, designed and built this UAV.
This plane’s first flight was shown off in July 2022, and it was followed by six flight tests using two prototypes made in-house in different developmental configurations.
As a result of these flight tests, a strong aerodynamic and control system, an advanced ground control station, and real-time and hardware-in-loop simulation were all made possible.
The team had improved the avionics, integration, and flight operations so that the final configuration could be used for a successful seventh flight.
The prototype plane has a complicated arrowhead-shaped wing platform and is made with a lightweight carbon prepreg composite material that was created in-house. Also, the composite structure is filled with fiber interrogators for health monitoring, which is an example of independence (Atmanirbharta) in aerospace technology.
The high-speed UAV can land itself without radars, infrastructure, or a pilot on the ground. This is a one-of-a-kind demonstration of a capability. The UAV can take off and land from any surveyed runway. For this to happen, onboard sensor data had to be combined with data from local satellites using GAGAN receivers to make GPS navigation more accurate and reliable.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh praised DRDO, the Armed Forces, and the Industry for the successful flight test of the system. He also said that developing such important technologies in India would make the Indian Armed Forces even stronger.
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