Chitradurga: DRDO successfully carries out maiden flight of unmanned aerial aircraft

PTI, Jul 2, 2022, 10:07 AM IST

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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.