According to news agency ANI, the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator, an indigenous high-speed flying wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), has been successfully flown by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) from the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga, Karnataka. The autonomous stealthy unmanned aerial vehicle’s successful flight demonstration highlights the nation’s degree of technological readiness.
With this flight in the tailless configuration, India has joined the elite group of nations who have mastered the controls for the flying wing configuration.
This drone was designed and manufactured by the DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE). July 2022 saw the first flight of this aircraft, which was followed by six flight tests in various developmental configurations using two internally built prototypes.
The outcome of these flight tests was the development of a sophisticated ground control station, integrated real-time and hardware-in-the-loop simulation, and a strong aerodynamic and control system. In order to prepare for the seventh successful flight in the final configuration, the crew optimized the avionic systems, integration, and flight operations.
The aircraft prototype with its complex arrowhead wing structure is constructed and produced using an in-house developed lightweight carbon prepreg composite material.
Moreover, the composite structure is embedded with fiber interrogators to monitor health, exhibiting aerospace technology’s self-sufficiency (Atmanirbharta). This fast UAV’s autonomous landing, which enables takeoff and landing from any runway given measured coordinates, is demonstrated as a unique capability demonstration. It does this without the need for ground radars, infrastructure, or a pilot.
In order to improve GPS navigation accuracy and integrity, native satellite-based augmentation using GAGAN receivers was coupled with onboard sensor data fusion.
The successful flight testing of the system was congratulated on by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who also said that the Indian Armed Forces will be strengthened by the homegrown development of such crucial technology.
