AVATAAR: India’s Drone That Flies in the Air and Dives Underwater
AquaAirX Autonomous Systems, a Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup, has developed a drone that can operate in both air and water. The drone is called AV
India’s indigenous stealth flying-wing combat drone programme received a boost, with the Defence Procurement Board of the Defence Ministry recommending that the proposal to procure 60 Ghatak combat drones, currently under development by DRDO, be approved. The programme is waiting for approval from the Defence Acquisition Council.
Ghatak is a stealth drone, based on a flying-wing configuration. It is intended for low radar cross-section and internal weapon carriage. Once operational, Ghatak could participate in deep-strike missions to hit high-value targets without risking pilots' lives.
Operating autonomously or alongside manned aircraft, it could also destroy enemy air defences, such as radar stations and missile systems and strike strategic infrastructure with precision-guided munitions.
In November, while disclosing that the Indian Air Force had drawn up a technology and capability road map titled “Vision 2047”, Chief of the Air Staff A P Singh had said unmanned systems will not fully replace manned fighter jets in the near future. However, he emphasized that the Air Force fully backed the Ghatak UCAV programme.
On December 15, 2023, DRDO conducted a flight trial of the “Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator”, described in an official release as an indigenous high-speed flying-wing UAV. The demonstrator was a precursor to the Ghatak UCAV.
The trial, carried out in a tailless configuration at the Aeronautical Test Range in Karnataka’s Chitradurga, was described as marking India’s entry into an “elite club of states to have mastered the controls for the flying-wing technology”.
The drone, designed and developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment, also demonstrated autonomous landing without the requirement for ground radars, infrastructure or pilot intervention, allowing takeoff and landing from any runway with surveyed coordinates. The drone’s maiden flight took place in July 2022.
The prototype is made of an indigenously developed carbon composite material, with the structure laden with sensors for health monitoring.
Source: Business Standard
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