Overcoming the initial setbacks of the program, the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) tested Friday’s flight the prototype of indigenous drone Rustom-2 of medium resistance and long duration and achieved eight hours of flight at an altitude of 16,000 feet in Chitradurga, Karnataka. The prototype is expected to reach a height of 26,000 feet and an endurance of 18 hours by the end of 2020.
Rustom-2 is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads depending on mission objectives, including synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence systems, and situational awareness systems. It has a satellite communication link to broadcast the situation in the battle theater in real time. “The Rustom-2 had one hour of fuel left after eight hours of test flight at the Challakere aeronautical test range in Karanataka’s Chitradurga district and had reached the test flight ceiling,” said a senior official.
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While the DRDO hopes that the Rustom-2 surveillance drone will match the specifications of the Israeli Heron unmanned aerial vehicle used by the Indian Air Force and Navy, it has revitalized its drone program with a new chief of mission and targets. . The push for the Rustom-2 program came after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) attempted to occupy Indian territory in Ladakh on the basis of a 1959 cartographic claim on the Royal Line of Control (LAC). The PLA has Wing Loong II armed drones in its arsenal and has even delivered four of them to Pakistan to protect the CPEC corridor and the port of Gwadar.
Although the Rustom-2 will have to undergo user testing and testing before being inducted into the Indian Army, the Ministry of Defense is currently negotiating with the Israeli Aerospace Industry (IAI) not only to upgrade the existing fleet of Heron drones, but also to arm them with air. to surface missiles and laser-guided bombs.
According to South Block officials, the technical improvement and assembly of the Heron drone is at the level of the contract negotiation committee after being approved by the Defense Acquisition Committee (DAC). The project will be approved at the Cabinet Security Committee (CCS) level.
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The Heron upgrade involves the installation of a satellite communication link so there are no time gaps in the ground relay situation, as well as the installation of hard spots on the wings for laser-guided missiles and bombs. While the Israelis have kept their armed drone program under cover, the Heron has a proven armed version.
Furthermore, India has also decided to go for the US MQ 9B armed drone instead of the Sea Guardian surveillance drone with the cost and numbers in the works. Clearly, the future belongs to the weapons of confrontation and India this time will not miss the bus.
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