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Featured India Uncovered its secret "GHATAK" drone: Stealth deep strike capable

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No need to rent Reapers then?

This is a TD. 1:7 version is being test flown for control, wind testing and other techs.
There might be one more proto of Swift. The final version is the Ghatak UCAV. This version may not be inducted just an test bed and uses an Saturn NPO engine if I am right.
 
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This is a TD. 1:7 version is being test flown for control, wind testing and other techs.
There might be one more proto of Swift. The final version is the Ghatak UCAV. This version may not be inducted just an test bed and uses an Saturn NPO engine if I am right.
What are the armaments for Ghatak?
 
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impressive work. it will be a crime not to take the advantage of the level of technology access granted to India by the west which leads the world in technological achievements and developments. it might developed with the aim of penetrating Chinese airspace Pakistan is just a convenient starting point.

should Pakistan do the copy cat? well who am I to comment when we have a large force of armchair generals and strategists on this forum.

China already have several Stealth drones projects including a supersonic stealth drone so if needed JV can be done in that field too.
 
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What are the armaments for Ghatak?

I think it is too soon to talk about this at this stage seeing its not Ghatak UCAV yet. But mostly LGBs, Dumb bombs and A2G missiles. By the time it gets inducted, newer weapon tech might emerge. So it's too soon to speculate what it will carry.
 
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I think it is too soon to talk about this at this stage seeing its not Ghatak UCAV yet. But mostly LGBs, Dumb bombs and A2G missiles. By the time it gets inducted, newer weapon tech might emerge. So it's too soon to speculate what it will carry.
But is there any official brochure that what kind of bombs or a2a weapons will it carry?
 
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But is there any official brochure that what kind of bombs or a2a weapons will it carry?
Nothing as of now. DRDO usually tends to release a brochure or spec datasheet when the weapons system reached a certain level of maturity in it's developmental phase
 
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But is there any official brochure that what kind of bombs or a2a weapons will it carry?

Officially I haven't seen anything yet. This project was initially directly handled by PMO which generally handles only strategic black projects like the Nuke subs and delivery systems. Though it is now handled by MoD, which means it's budget, development phases are in the open, the same level of secrecy is being handled with regards to the systems itself.
News comes out occasionally unintentionally through our research scientists in our universities in IIT or IISC where the professor's carelessly share something on the work related to the Swift on their slides or in class leading to leakage of such news. Offcourse professors are not trained to be careful with the information.
Good thing in this project is we have extensively used our educational institution to our max effect in this development. IIT Kanpur even has a wind tunnel testing lab. Microprocessors are being developed for this project in our institutions. I hope an ecosystem similar to US arises after this project.
 
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This has to be the biggest joke ever !

Ghatak is made of EPO foam ...
some RC toy shop pictures.


One of India’s most ambitious aerospace projects known as the “Ghatak” translating to Lethal, has made a new surprise debut in a video released by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Kanpur) – the institution which has been working on the project for quite some time.

Ghatak_UCAV_Model_1.jpg

The SWiFT/Ghatak UCAV scale model in one of the laboratories of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. (Screenshot from IIT-Kanpur’s YouTube video)

The DRDO’s “Ghatak”, or what was previously known as “AURA”, is probably the most secretive aircraft project of the Indian government, which is aimed to develop an unmanned stealth deep penetration strike bomber for the Indian Armed Forces (expectedly the IAF).

The design is based on the flying wing concept, which is a tailless and undefined fuselage concept.

The new appearance made was during a lecture on UAV aerodynamics shared about two weeks ago, and the craft is known as SWiFT (Stealth Wing Flying Testbed) and resembles the Ghatak UAV physically.

According to the sources, the image is the first appearance of Ghatak scaled-downed prototype with its undercarriage and landing gear.

In the video, more than one model of the flying wing SWiFT can be seen, and the institution is reportedly studying the viability of achieving lower radar cross-section and conducting wind-tunnel tests, making a crucial base for future Indian aircraft projects in the aviation sector.

The technologies associated with the project are expected to be 100% indigenously developed, however, controversies still prevail over the powerplant. In 2018, it was reported that the early prototypes would be powered by the Russian NPO Saturn 36MT turbofan engine.

It is expected that by the time Ghatak would be ready to fly, India would have successfully developed its own aircraft engine “Kaveri” and technologies associated with it. The engine will be developed in collaboration with French company Safran, which also came as an offset clause with the Rafale deal.

Other than IIT Kanpur, IIT-Bombay has also collaborated for the design and testing of the serpentine air intake duct (also known as S-duct inlet) for the engine.

Ghatak_UCAV_Model_2.jpg


The Ghatak is now a fully funded and sanctioned national defence project, and will likely see large-scale private sector participation going forward, given its many linkages with India’s AMCA fifth-generation stealth fighter program, told LiveFist. It also revealed the details of the connection between IIT Kanpur and the Ghatak project back in 2018.

Currently, various nations are working on the development of such aircraft with comparable roles of stealth bombing and reconnaissance, including the Russian Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik, which made its maiden flight in August 2019.

Similar projects also include the British BAE Systems Taranis, German/Spanish EADS Barracuda, American Boeing X-45 and Northrop Grumman X-47B, French Dassault nEUROn, Lockheed Martin’s RQ-170 and the Russian Mikoyan Skat.

Penned By Ayush Jain. Inputs from LiveFist
 
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