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After a
considerable delay, Rustom2, India's long
endurance Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV)
finally completed its first flight early
on Tuesday in Challakere, about 200km from Bengaluru.
The UCAV,
which is in the mediumaltitude, long endurance (MALE) category of vehicles, sources
in the
Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) which developed the vehicle, said "met all
the expectations" during the first flight.
First scheduled
in late 2013, the threeyear delay of
the first flight had only added to
the timeline, which is punctuated by other
delays during development even as the
Indian armed
forces are increasingly looking outside the country for combat drones with deals already struck
with Israeli firms.
Rustom2, the developers, however, claim will be an aircraft unlike any other UAV in the ranks of
our forces. It has a wingspan of more than 20m and an endurance of 2430 hours.
Equipped with
contemporary technology, it will need a
runway to takeoff and land unlike traditional UAVs, which makes it more trustworthy. Compared to RustomI, the advanced version
will have enhanced aerodynamic configuration, digital flight control and navigation system.
"Besides, it will also
have automatic takeoff and landing
capabilities, this version of Rustom is comparable to some of the best in the world," sources in ADE said.
While the ADE hopes to bag orders from all the three wings of the armed forces— army, navy
and the air force— its ability to stick to deadlines and also give a good quality platform will be
key. The Indian army, which had
inducted DRDO's earlier UAV Nishanth, had
to face several crashes and is contemplating junking it with no fresh induction planned.
Let's see How Rustom-2 is different from its initial version Rustom-1.
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Column1
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RUSTOM-1
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RUSTOM-2
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MISSION
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12
Hrs Endurance
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24
Hrs Endurance
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Both
Develop for MALE UAV
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Extra
Features in Rustom-2 includes ATOL,
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T-Tail,
Better Flexibility
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Designed for
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Army
Corp Operation
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Army
Command Operation
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