Rustom 2/TAPAS/BH-201 MALE UAV News Updates and Discussions

[sayareakd]

Please change the title to
DRDO Rustom 2 UCAV. I will put all updates here.
Rustom 2 is a far more important UAV and deserves a separate sticky thread for analysis.

make it sticky and change the title.......................................

 

[Akask kumar]

what are the chances of such UAV / UCAV getting shot down? dnt they get detected on radar? i had read that even predators had fallen prey to enemy missiles..
Do u we have any stealth versions of UAV/UCAV under development , coz it matters most in these planes as their speed is not quite great to escape missiles..

Predator top speed is 217 km/h . how they manage to duck missiles

 

[Prashant12]

what are the chances of such UAV / UCAV getting shot down? dnt they get detected on radar? i had read that even predators had fallen prey to enemy missiles..
Do u we have any stealth versions of UAV/UCAV under development , coz it matters most in these planes as their speed is not quite great to escape missiles..

Predator top speed is 217 km/h . how they manage to duck missiles

DRDO AURA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRDO_AURA

 

[Indx TechStyle]

India Will No Longer Require Israel’s Heron or US Predator Drones

India’s defense forces will require more than 5,000 UAVs in the coming ten years. If successful, the soon-to-be-tested Rustom II will eliminate the need for India to import UAVs from the US and Israel. India’s homemade medium altitude long endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Rustom II is due for its first test flight by the end of this month. If successful, Rustom II, manufactured by the state-run Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), can eliminate the need to import American Predator drones or Israel’s Heron drones. India’s Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar will witness the test flight.

According to the Ministry of Defense, “Rustom-II is being designed to operate at up to 30,000 ft above mean sea level altitude (AMSL) with an endurance of 24 hours from take-off to landing, with synthetic aperture radar and long range electro-optic payloads (up to 350 kg) at 20,000 ft. It is designed to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force.”

Rustom II has a range of up to 250 km; however, sources says that first flight will cover approximately 100 km.

Air Marshal Anil Chopra (Retired) says, “India desperately needs to have a good program for UAVs because China already has 1b500 UAVs and they are making 40-50 different types of UAVs. There are a large number of manufacturers in China which are doing it and, of course, until now, we have depended on Israeli systems. Now, the specifications which we have given to ourselves for Rustom are very good. But, we only hope that ultimately Rustom will be good. In any UAV there are basically two things which are critical; one is the quality of auto-pilot which the UAV has and second is the quality of the data link between ground and the UAV through satellite or whatever.”

Sources says that Rustom II will be more cost effective as it is pegged at USD 34 million per unit in comparison to Israel’s Heron TP, which consumes a higher share from the limited budget of the Indian defense ministry.

Meanwhile, India’s Ministry of Defense recently floated a notification inviting a response from indigenous manufacturers for the procurement of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs for use by three defense services. The Ministry of Defense recently invited responses from local manufacturers for the procurement of MALE UAVs. The notification says, “This will be under the ‘Make in India’ initiative from Indian companies. The project would be based on proven or matured technologies where fundamental research is not required.”

Describing the operational requirements of UAVs, the Ministry says, “Altitude ceiling should be around 30,000 ft or above, with endurance that should be more than 25 hrs. The maximum range should be more than 250 kms.”

Looking at the operational requirements and capability of Rustom II, if successful, Rustom II can easily fulfill this requirement of India’s defense forces. India plans to procure more than 5,000 UAVs in next 10 years. Countries including France, Israel and the US are eyeing major purchases.

Air Marshal Chopra says, “We are hoping big from Rustom II because if we do not succeed in these basic systems, then for us to succeed in ‘Make in India’ in aviation, will be a big thing. So, we have to succeed in Light Combat Aircraft Tejas and Rustom. From Rustom, we will proceed towards the launch of many other UAVs including our own AURA (Advanced Unmanned Reconnaissance Aircraft) and things like that. We have lot of big plans ahead, but it is very important that Rustom succeeds.”

Courtesy: idrw.org
@HariPrasad-1 @LETHALFORCE

 

[Kunal Biswas]

They have already tested Helina from Rustom-1, I think it won`t surprise us if we see the same from mark 2 ..

 

[Indx TechStyle]

They have already tested Helina from Rustom-1, I think it won`t surprise us if we see the same from mark 2 ..

Can we make one to carry Astra AAM or a heavy to carry Nirbhay A or BrahMos A?:biggrin2:

 

[Kunal Biswas]

It won`t be surprising to see series of Rustom class UCAV which will be bigger and with bigger payload ..

I don`t think it needs to carry cruise missiles in coming days but surly big precision guided bombs ..

Can we make one to carry Astra AAM or a heavy to carry Nirbhay A or BrahMos A?:biggrin2:

 

[Rahul Singh]

If i not wrong DRDO/ ADE has perfected autonomous operations in Rustom 1 itself which includes take-off and landing. So technology is there. Though how well it is integrated is a,thing to see.

 

[kstriya]

It won`t be surprising to see series of Rustom class UCAV which will be bigger and with bigger payload ..

I don`t think it needs to carry cruise missiles in coming days but surly big precision guided bombs ..

We need to collaborate or form JV on research on SDB which can be used for precision strikes. SDB's on Rustom will be a great add on.

 

[Yumdoot]

Air Marshal Chopra says, “We are hoping big from Rustom II because if we do not succeed in these basic systems, then for us to succeed in ‘Make in India’ in aviation, will be a big thing. So, we have to succeed in Light Combat Aircraft Tejas and Rustom. From Rustom, we will proceed towards the launch of many other UAVs including our own AURA (Advanced Unmanned Reconnaissance Aircraft) and things like that. We have lot of big plans ahead, but it is very important that Rustom succeeds.”

Courtesy: idrw.org
@HariPrasad-1 @LETHALFORCE

Somebody should tell the good AM that Rustom is as much about aviation as an RC plane.

Rustom is essentially about Automation, PNT, Information Warfare and interlinkages of weapons and sensors. Once Rustom-2 is done you can begin to do much more interesting things basis the learning curve of Rustom series.

 

[Raj Malhotra]

IIRC HAL & BEL won the tender for developing and manufacturing 18 Rustom-2s for Rs 1500 in 2010 after many years of preliminary work by ADE on the UAV. Some old links are given below. Thereafter HAL, BEL, ADE combine roundly fucked it up. One cannot say, Whether it was intentional to help Israeli UAV imports. Be as it may, the payload was envisaged to be around 350kg and fuel around 250kg but the UAV is 700kg overweight hence it cannot even take off. And even if it does take off, it will be only for show.

What is required is that engines are replaced by turboprops like Garrett being manufactured by HAL and Rustom-2 be pushed forward. But rather then radical surgery ADE/HAL combine are dong tinkering like slightly more powerful piston engines and half baked attempt to shave off some weight. Even this exercise is supposed to take 2-4 years, hence production of UAV will be delayed by 5-10 years. Who wins? Imports!

http://www.livemint.com/Companies/t...EL-beat-pvt-rivals-to-win-Rustom-project.html

http://www.newindianexpress.com/nat...rtments-Scanner/2015/11/14/article3127536.ece

Some of the officials apprehended that a lobby was taking advantage of the slow pace of indigenous UAVs by pushing for a particular foreign firm. DRDO’s Bengaluru-based Aeronautical Development Establishment is leading the Rustom project and a budget of Rs 1,540 crore has been allocated to develop the Rustom-II in 2011 to match the capabilities of US-built Predator drone.

 

[Prashant12]

Official Mission Profile Of India’s Rustom-2 UCAV

There’s a lot of talk on the interwebs on precisely what kind of platform India’s Rustom-2 MALE UAS will be. As it prepares for its first flight late this month or early August, I thought I’d pull out this official schematic slide I obtained back in 2012, depicting for the first time the Rustom-2’s operational profile. This was, in effect, the first official document describing the Rustom-2 as a strike platform.

Livefist can confirm that the Rustom-2 platform that will fly shortly isn’t optimised for weapons carriage -- hardpoints for weapons will be sported likely on the second prototype of the Rustom-2, which will also contain weight optimisation and aerodynamic improvements. That airframe could be rolled out as early as next year, sources say.

Livefist will reporting in detail shortly on the concept AURA USAV project too. Meanwhile, the imminent flight test of India’s first stated unmanned strike platform is a momentous occasion, and an opportune time to discuss the way forward, both in terms of technology and doctrine. Glad to have your thoughts below.

 

[DarthVader]

Its just sad that prototyping and coding for a unmanned surveillance platform takes this long....I mean really...coding UAV platforms is not rocket science anymore. I am also surprised as to why TATA's and Mahindras with there deep pockets didnt come up with anything.

 

[ezsasa]

Its just sad that prototyping and coding for a unmanned surveillance platform takes this long....I mean really...coding UAV platforms is not rocket science anymore. I am also surprised as to why TATA's and Mahindras with there deep pockets didnt come up with anything.

Let the MoD officially Make a prospective plan about their requirement of UAV numbers for next 15 years. Once that happens your wish will be true.

Most Indian companies are not risk takers, they don't put money without assurance of revenue.

 

[Jagdish58]

Heard Indian Turboprop will replace Russian one in Rustom-2 in future, is that true??

If yes who is developing the new indian turboprop

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Its Canadian piston engine rather turbo prop ..

Heard Indian Turboprop will replace Russian one in Rustom-2 in future, is that true??

If yes who is developing the new indian turboprop

 

[Jagdish58]

Its Canadian piston engine rather turbo prop ..

Opps

But which which candian piston engine is that?? can you name plz

Rustom-1 is Lycoming 0-320

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Austro-Canadian Rotax 914 F3 engines, maximum continuous power of 100 BHP produced by 914F3

Opps

But which which candian piston engine is that?? can you name plz

Rustom-1 is Lycoming 0-320

 

[Kunal Biswas]

People in R&D have bigger plans for Rustoms, They developing 8kn jet engine for UCAV, Assuming Rustom 2 model with piston engine and followed up versions with turbo fan engines ..


http://www.pbsvb.com/customer-industries/aerospace/aircraft-engines/tj-100-turbojet-engine

^^ Much like this ..

 

[Raj Malhotra]

Rustom is fucked in present configuration. It is super massively overweight. If more powerful Piston engines are used then it will add to weight and more fuel will also be required, hence the whole configuration has to be redone. HAL has to use turboprop or turbofan engines. In any case, piston engine powered UCAVs fly too low and too slow for Himalayan heights, which are our primary area of conflict.