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TAPAS-201 (RUSTOM-II), a multi-mission UAV, is being developed to carry out the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) roles for the three Armed Forces with an endurance of 24 hours.
DRDO in Nov 2016 successfully carried out the maiden test flight of TAPAS-201, a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV. The test flight took place from Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, 250 km from Bangalore which is a newly developed flight test range for the testing of UAVs and manned aircraft. The flight accomplished the main objectives of proving the flying platform, such as take-off, bank, level flight, and landing etc.
HIGHLIGHTS
DRDO successfully carries out a maiden test flight of TAPAS 201.
TAPAS 201 will carry out ISR roles for Armed Forces.
It was piloted by the pilots from the Armed Forces.
TAPAS 201, the MALE UAV has been designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), the Bangalore-based premier lab of DRDO with HAL-BEL as the production partners. The UAV weighing two tons and it is also the first R&D prototype UAV which has undergone certification and qualification for the first flight from the Center for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) and Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA).
Enthused by the initial test success of TAPAS-201, the indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, DRDO has decided to produce 10 such pilotless aircraft and hope to seek its induction in Indian Armed Forces in near future.
The Tapas-201, a medium altitude long endurance (MALE) UAV had met the initial expectations and the Rs 1,500 crore program was online. The developmental program was now on and the organization expects that the UAVs would be inducted into the defense forces later. However, developers of the UAV was non-committal of the UAVs combat capabilities but promised to spruce up the aircraft with a continuous upgrade program.
TAPAS 201, a multi-mission UAV, is being developed to carry out the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) roles for the three Armed Forces with an endurance of 24 hours. It is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads like Medium Range Electro-Optic (MREO), Long Range Electro-Optic (LREO), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), Communication Intelligence (COMINT) and Situational Awareness Payloads (SAP) to perform missions during day and night.
The Tactical Air-Borne Platform TAPAS Beyond Horizon 201 (TAPAS-BH 201) promises much for Make In India campaign of the Prime Minister Modi's government and could prove a success if the developmental process is put on a fast track. The first flight will be followed by the development of nine more prototypes of the advanced UAV for testing, after which the certification process will start.
DRDO will produce 10 such Tapas aircraft and the team, including the ground-based pilots, are in their work.
After the stipulated test flights the agency will proceed towards certification. It would take at least one year of continuous effort and young engineers of DRDO were working hard to make it a success and seek to get an order from Armed Forces and the induction of indigenous UAVs into National use.
It is noteworthy that the development of UAV immensely contributes towards the Make in India initiative as many critical systems such as airframe, landing gear, flight control and avionics sub-systems are being developed in India with the collaboration of private industries. Defense Electronics Application Laboratory (DEAL) of DRDO has developed the data link for the UAV. TAPAS-201 will undergo further trials for validating the design parameters, before going for User Validation Trials.
Admin - IDN
http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2017/03/idn-take-drdo-proposes-to-produce-10.html
