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In a landmark move that will contribute to the growth of the Indian Armed Forces, a technological demonstrator (TD)
of the ‘Rustom’ unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), will be put in the sky this month.
The Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is leading the Rs.1,000-crore Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) Rustom programme.
The Rustom UAV will have capabilities that will match contemporary UAVs such as the Israeli Heron currently in use by the Indian Armed Forces.The ADE are using the ‘Rustom’ technology demonstrator as a stepping stone to prove the technologies that will go into the ‘Rustom’ UAV.
The ‘Rustom’ Technology Demonstrator will be smaller in size than the original but will have the same configuration as that of a full-fledged Rustom UAV. It will undertake around 10 flights which will include taxiing, taking off and landing like a conventional aeroplane but devoid of a pilot. Being smaller than the full-fledged production standard Rustom, the technology demonstrator will have endurance of only 12 to 15 hours, approximately half of what the Rustom is being designed for.
A DRDO technical evaluation committee is examining the proposals of Tatas, Larsen and Toubro, Godrej and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-Bharat Electronics Limited (joint bid), one of whom will join the ADE as the Production Agency cum Development Partner (PADP). A price negotiating committee, headed by Defence Minister A.K. Antony, is looking into the commercial aspects of the proposals.
Both the PADP and the users (Indian Armed Forces) will have a financial stake in the Rustom project.
In the case of the ’Rustom’ UAV, the DRDO is shifting to a regime of concurrent engineering practices where initial design efforts also take into consideration production issues, with the production agency participating in the development of the system right from the design stage, and concurrently developing the necessary infrastructure and expertise for the product and product support.
Earlier this year, ADE had indicated that the cost of producing one set of five Rustom vehicles with five sets of spares, payload and ground handling equipment would be around $50 million. The partner, once selected, will build the drone, test and certify it, and provide maintenance services. It will also work on converting Rustom into an unmanned combat aerial vehicle, in addition to developing future versions of the drone.
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