DRDO Statement: A successful flight test of the Rustom-1 UAV was conducted at around 12 noon on 21st May 2011. It was the second successful flight of “Rustom 1” being developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a DRDO lab engaged in pioneering R&D work in the field of aeronautics. The “Rustom 1” has an endurance of 14 hrs. and altitude ceiling of 8000 meters. Rustom 1 has been achieved by converting a manned aircraft in to a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) by removing pilot seat and making required electrical, mechanical and aerodynamic modifications. The test flight was conducted at the airfield belonging to the M/s Taneja Aerospace (TAAL) located near Hosur. Many improvements have been carried outs since the last flight, in terms of piloting, landing, taxiing etc. The flight was a precursor to the flight with payloads as required by the Services. The complete sequence of events went off well to the total satisfaction of the scientists and technical personnel of the Bangalore’s Aeronautical Development Establishment who have developed the UAV. Lt Col Thappa from the Army was the external pilot for total mission flight who had no difficulty for control of the vehicle.
Dr Prahlada, Chief controller Research and Development (Aeronautics Programs), informed that with the successful accurate flying of Rustom 1 today, ADE is geared up for integration of payloads with the Aircraft within next three months, to demonstrate performance of payloads and necessary secure data-link to the users.
Here’s a vid of the Rustom-1’s first flight in October last year.
Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone
atlast its flying.wow
So how many more 'decades' before it is inducted into Services??
How is it possible to remove the pilot seat. This looks too small for a manned plane.
Which manned plane was unmanned to make Rustom?
when will RUSTOM-H fly shiv?
any inside news?
Hope it wont crash in the next flight.
Regards,
TAXPAYER
"Rustom 1 has been achieved by converting a manned aircraft in to a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) by removing pilot seat and making required electrical, mechanical and aerodynamic modifications"
what core bullshit…who's expert views are these?
LESORUB-E Combat Management Automated System is to be used in ins vikramaditya can u get us some more info about it n also about other cms used in INDIAN NAVAL SHIPS
Is it meant for surveillance only? can it be used as combat using air to surface missile similar to US drone?
why does it take so long from 1st flight to 2nd flight to…. … to induction? why cant they work faster?
altitude of just 8000 mtrs. A the subsonic speeds this is a sitting duck for a SAM site.
@ Anon….Stop behaving like a jerk…
What does 'MALE' mean?
Quite an appropriate name — Rustom
Are they still flogging Burt Rutan's kit plane as their own? Even the kit is a decade old.
Great News. It means that the technology for creating UAV's are finally here. I believe this UAV will serve as TD and a platform for next generation of UAV/UCAV's. However, I am also interested to know about Rustom(which was displayed in 2009). Shiv please update us if that beast will fly again?
i think that was a press release for the general public who may not understand what is a UAV (hence mentioned 'pilot was removed'). The PR should have been a bit more accurate with the words. also read somewhere that rustom now flying is a scaled down TD model (looks like that too)
@darkestflame
Rustom will be available for production immediately after the next generation types are free available to the neighbouring countries. Till then, it will be in the research.
what happened to PTA Lakshya..it never entered service even after more than 25 years….Like The Ganga river these type of projects will continue for ever,it appears. PDR , CDR,few gold medals and after few Scientist Gs and Hs…project will get closed.
@Vamsee..
MALE = Medium Altitude Long Endurance
Meanwhile..
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/teeny-tiny-drone-fires-teeny-tiny-missile-gulp/
@Vamsee
MALE stands for"Medium Altitude Long Endurance"
@1035..they have been in use for a decade..but hey..that doesnt ride well with the criticism you wanna make..so…what the hck..ignore it
@1118…well if you hadnt noticed..they took the pilot out of it…
@VAMSEE medium altitude long endurance
@1009 PM…these things are small enough that they can get in quite close without being detected….
@darkestflame….to some people..it shall never be good enough……so for you..the answer is never..
@1016 AM…well if america gives away drones to pakistan..blame the drdo for that too!!!
@10.35 AM for your kind information Lakshya PTA is already inducted into Indian air force from late 1999 and also in Indian navy and as of now a reconnaissance version of the Lakshya is under development..
It seems that you are paranoid abt DRDO..for people to criticize on some forums is very easy.If you that guts in you u must have left your "OVER PAID" jobs n joined some developmental organization in GOI
@Anon 10:35..
are u dumb!!!…there are many PTA Lakshyas deployed with IA..and HAL is mass producing them..
when does we learn to build high altitude , high range ucav may be not in this century at the current pace we and pakis may built uavs same time [like jf17. lca]even some small universities in china making these male uavs
Forget the comedy of errors.
DRDO March ahead…
MALE = Medium Altitude Long Endurance
DRDO is really bombastic and truly uses high sounding words like those used in Sanskrit. Sanskrit has high meanings but DRDO is only rich is using high sounding words and words only..
Nothing to see on ground and nothing for the forces to use..
I think the three Services should pool in their technical resources and bid farewell to this Sanskrit prone, IAS type DRDO..
We are lagging way behind in unmanned aircrafts. The rest of the world is testing stealth unmanned bombers and we are stuck with TDs of an outdated design which was perhaps made in the 70s by the US.
And I think the program is too late and too modest in its approach. The Rustom-H has extremely limited range of around 300Km while most other UAVs are well above 5000Km. US's UAVs are above 24,000Km in range. Plus the payload is nothing exceptional. Although most news channel most unwisely compare it to Predator and Hawk, it has No weapon firing capability or endurance like its counterparts.
Lakshya can't even be counted as a proper UAV in this age. Germans made such flying drones in 1940s and US has been copying their designs since 50s. Nishant is extremely vulnerable to damage after single use due to its gross and outdated landing system. No wonder Army has only ordered 12 Nishants.
I wonder why don't we collaborate with Israel in making UAVs? They have been supplying us with UAVs since 90s, so I don't think they would refuse to share technologies after all most of our UAVs themselves have Israeli subsystems.
But I am pleased that private players are doing well in this sector. They have come up with several innovative designs in unmanned systems. But unfortunately our Government is still not over with its Socialist mentality.
Congrats DRDO – you copied a homebuilt Rutan Long EZ, removed the pilot, and are now being hailed for your innovation! Why not get a Bangalore startup to do this and focus instead on strategic and critical technologies that are unavailable in global markets?
"Rustom 1 has been achieved by converting a manned aircraft in to a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) by removing pilot seat and making required electrical, mechanical and aerodynamic modifications"
Too an extent isn't that true; Rustom is based on NAL's manned Light Canard Research Aircraft!
@1114PM
apples n jackfruit comparison…
the ones with 5000km+ range..they are of the size of small a/c..look @ what wikipedia says about IAI Eitan (7500km range)–>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAI_Eitan–>With a wingspan of 26 m (86 feet) the aircraft is comparable in size to a Boeing 737!!
By the same logic:
you could call the C172 a dud because of its capabilities compared to a 737….
you could call a sniper rifle a dud compared to a V2 rocket..i mean both can kill…good enough to compare one should think!!.
Rustom is supposed to replace the IAI Heron in service..which has a range of 350km
Lakshya being in this talk is because someone said it was not inducted yet….
The pvt sector always cries that the govt is hurting it..they want the govt to treat them like the US govt treats aerospace firms…the only difference being that the US aerospace firms are giants..and have a vast expertise…which is why the govt gives them contracts…here the pvt companies think they have some birthright to obtain contracts because just by being in pvt sector they are world class…
anon at 10.35..
gets ur facts ryt..lakshya is used as target platfor for fighter jts and sams…so pls stop spreading ur ignorance
Saw this one flying here in bengaluru skies last week. I saw it on 20th. Must have been a trial run. But its quite a loud drone for one.
Shiv and Rahul Devnath is right. Rustom is modified version of NAL's manned Light Canard Research Aircraft (the manned version is actually flying.
We guys need to check out before using words like "what core bullshit".
Wow. Thanks all, so many helped with the abbrev.