India demonstrates autonomous take-off, landing capabilities of Rustom II UAV

Source : Janes

India'S DRDO SUCCESSFULLY FLIGHT-TESTED ITS INDIGENOUSLY DESIGNED RUSTOM-2 MALE UAV IN USER CONFIGURATION ON 25 FEBRUARY. (DRDO)

India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has demonstrated the Rustom II medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle’s (UAV’s) ability to take off and land autonomously. The milestone was announced by the DRDO on 13 November. During the trial, the Rustom II also demonstrated its ability to utilise India’s GAGAN satellite-based navigation system, the agency added.

The Rustom II is a twin turboprop-powered UAV that has been designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. It has an overall length of 9.5 m and a wingspan of 20.6 m. It can carry payloads such as gimballed electro-optical sensors of up to 350 kg.

The vehicle has been developed by Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Establishment in conjunction with the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited. It comes from the Rustom family of UAVs, the first of which was revealed in 2009.