Rustom-2 completes 8 hours Endurance test flight

Mejar Kumar October 10, 2020

Rustom 2

Overcoming the initial program setbacks, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) on Friday flight tested the Rustom-2 medium altitude long endurance indigenous prototype drone and achieved eight hours of flying at an altitude of 16000 feet at Chitradurga, Karnataka. The prototype is predicted to realize a height of 26000 feet and endurance of 18 hours by 2020 end.

Rustom-2 is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads counting on the mission objectives including synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence systems and situational awareness systems. It has a satellite communication link to relay situation within the battle theatre on real time basis. “ The Rustom-2 had one hour of fuel left after eight hours of test flying at Challakere aeronautical range in Chitradurga district of Karanataka and had achieved the test flight ceiling,” said a senior official.

While the DRDO expects Rustom-2 surveillance drone to match the specifications of the Israeli Heron unmanned aerial vehicle employed by the Indian Air Force and Navy, it's revitalized its drone program with a replacement mission head and objectives. The push to Rustom-2 program was given after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) tried to occupy Indian territory in Ladakh on the idea of a 1959 cartographical claim on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The PLA has Wing Loong II armed drones in its arsenal and has even given four of them to Pakistan to guard the CPEC corridor and Gwadar port.

Although the Rustom-2 will need to undergo test and user trials before inducted within the Indian military, the Ministry of Defence is currently negotiating with Israeli Aerospace Industry (IAI) to not only upgrade the prevailing fleet of Heron drone but also arm them with air to surface missile and laser guided bombs.

According to South Block officials, the technical upgradation and arming of Heron drone is at contract negotiating committee level after being cleared by the Defence Acquisition Committee (DAC). The project are going to be cleared at the extent of the cupboard Committee on Security (CCS).

The Heron upgrade involves installing a satellite communication link in order that there's no time gap in relaying situation on ground also as installing hard points on the wings for missiles and laser guided bombs. While the Israelis have kept their armed drone program under cover, the Heron features a proven weaponized version.

Besides, India has also decided to travel certain American MQ 9B armed drone rather than Sea Guardian surveillance drone with cost and numbers being figured out . Clearly, the longer term belongs to stand-off weapons and India this point won't miss the bus.