NEW DELHI, Jul 2 (NNN-PTI) – India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), yesterday achieved a milestone in proving critical technologies for the development of future unmanned aircraft.
An official statement issued by the Ministry of Defence said, the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator carried out its successful maiden flight.
Operating in a fully autonomous mode, the aircraft exhibited a perfect flight, including take-off, waypoint navigation and a smooth touchdown, added the statement.
The maiden flight was undertaken from the Aeronautical Test Range, in the southern state of Karnataka.
It is seen as a significant step towards self-reliance in such strategic defence technologies.
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), powered by a small turbofan engine, is designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a premier research laboratory of DRDO, located in the southern city of Bengaluru. The airframe, undercarriage and entire flight control and avionics systems used for the aircraft were developed indigenously.
