The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Friday successfully carried out the maiden flight of the indigenously developed unmanned aircraft at Chitradurga, Karnataka.
Operating in a fully autonomous mode, the aircraft exhibited a perfect flight and a smooth touchdown, an official press release said.
The flight marked a major milestone in proving critical technologies towards development of future unmanned aircraft and is a significant step towards self-reliance in such strategic defence technologies, the statement read.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru, a premier research laboratory of DRDO, the statement said.
It is powered by a small turbofan engine. The airframe, undercarriage and entire flight control and avionics systems used for the aircraft were indigenously developed, according to the press release.
#DRDOUpdates | Successful Maiden Flight of Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator@PMOIndia https://t.co/K2bsCRXaYp https://t.co/brHxaH7wbF pic.twitter.com/SbMnI5tgUM
— DRDO (@DRDO_India) July 1, 2022
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO for its feat, said the statement.
It is a major achievement towards autonomous aircraft and would pave the way for Atma Nirbhar Bharat in terms of critical military systems, Singh was quoted as saying.
