Rustom II takes maiden flight
Although long delayed, the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully carried out the maiden flight of the Rustom II medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV on 16 November. It is the largest unmanned system that India has attempted to fly.
The test flight took place from the recently developed Aeronautical Test Range for UAVs and manned aircraft at Chitradurga, 250km from Bangalore.
The DRDO also announced the Rustom II had been renamed Tapas, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘to heat’.
‘The flight accomplished the main objectives of proving the flying platform, such as take-off, bank, level flight and landing,’ a DRDO statement said.
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