India's Hansa Trainer To Go Unmanned

Shaitan

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If you thought India had way too many unmanned air vehicle programmes, here's reason for you to slap your forehead again: The makers of the Hansa are looking to spin off an unmanned version of the trainer/general purpose aircraft. The state-owned National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL), which developed the Hansa, has entered into an agreement with private firm Kadet Defence Systems to convert the aircraft into an optionally unmanned platform. The agreement also includes joint development of a new tactical UAV (yes, another!).

There's an appalling lack of resource and research synergy between HAL, NAL, the DRDO and the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), all of which appear to be either developing (or, in HAL's case, marketing) UAVs with areas of obvious technological overlap. Weirdly, beyond the meaningless paper seminars and lofty presentations, none of these laboratories or agencies actually cooperate to deliver even a single, capable unmanned system to the armed forces. All we ever get to hear about is new UAVs, or old UAVs with new names. Someone needs to do something about this.

India's Hansa Trainer To Go Unmanned
 

W.G.Ewald

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This aircraft was designed around a pilot, if one considers the cockpit, canopy, controls, seats and instrument panel. A UAV can be much smaller for the same capabilities. It does seem an unmanned Hansa is a pointless effort.
 

pmaitra

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Weirdly, beyond the meaningless paper seminars and lofty presentations, none of these laboratories or agencies actually cooperate to deliver even a single, capable unmanned system to the armed forces. All we ever get to hear about is new UAVs, or old UAVs with new names. Someone needs to do something about this.
:rofl:

Very true. Why doesn't NAL first complete the Saras Project?

There's an appalling lack of resource and research synergy between HAL, NAL, the DRDO and the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), all of which appear to be either developing (or, in HAL's case, marketing) UAVs with areas of obvious technological overlap.
On the other hand, different agencies doing the same kind of research will yield various avenues for development and the end result can only be good. Working under one organization leads to a single design philosophy, which stuns creativity. The same method was applied in the USSR where competing aviation design bureaux worked on similar projects independently.

This might not be a good approach for a resource strapped country like India, but not entirely irrational either.

P.S.: Pardon my anachronistic quotes.
 

agentperry

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is it too risky for man to fly that they went on for unmanned version?
 

smanekshaw

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NAL is incapable of delivering anything.
Saras--failure
RTA--failure
uav program--failure
Having worked in that worthless organization, i can tell you that NAL and DRDO are both crap.
Not a single worthwhile thing has come out of this place.
 

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