Advertisement
The flight test was conducted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at its ITR, Chandipur near here. The vehicle can be used as an aerial target for the evaluation of various missile systems. The performance of the target aircraft was monitored through telemetry and various tracking sensors including Radars and Electro-Optical Tracking System (EOTS), official sources said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO for the successful flight trial of Abhyas.
The current test was carried out as a part of developmental flight trials. Expression of interest for the production of the vehicle has already been floated for bidding by Indian companies. This indigenous target aircraft, once developed, will meet the requirements of High-speed Expendable Aerial Targets (HEAT) for the Indian Armed Forces, they said.
Related Articles
Advertisement
It is powered by a gas turbine engine to sustain a long endurance flight at subsonic speed, they said adding that the target aircraft is equipped with MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) based Inertial Navigation System (INS) for navigation along with the Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control.
The vehicle is programmed for fully autonomous flight. The check-out of air vehicles is done using a laptop-based Ground Control Station (GCS).
Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO also congratulated the teams associated with the successful flight test of ABHYAS’ and termed it as a force-multiplier considering its accuracy and effectiveness.