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

[republic_roi97]

project will be killed after Avenger drones are bought.

Why ?? It would've been already dead then. I think they would continue its development regardless of any foreign deal.

 

[republic_roi97]

What would be its role ? And does it compares to Global Hawk or Predator, Avenger kind of drones ?? Because when it come to size, it is more like Global Hawk, I guess.

 

[Superdefender]

What would be its role ? And does it compares to Global Hawk or Predator, Avenger kind of drones ?? Because when it come to size, it is more like Global Hawk, I guess.

Rustom-2 is comparable to Heron-1. Heron TP, MQ-9 and Avenger are in different league.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

The challenges you are talking are talk of past in 70s, The Lakshya PTA which is not a dedicated UAV can be programmed in mid flight ( secure uplink and downlink ) and can change its flight path this include dropping of its targets package for SAMs ( Bombs can be included ), This PTA could have changed into a Armed UAV but forces wanted a dedicated design, The Nishant and rustom series are way beyond the 80s technology of Lakshya which you are referring a challenge to this generation.

Such imports are mid term solution not permanent to arm such a large force in Asia, But Avenger will surely give away for Indegnious designs based on it, And this could effect 5th generation fighter strength in numbers specially PAKFA and AMCA ( off-topic )

And these assets are delegated to battalion level or regiment level?

the real challenge lies in making the proprietary technology that makes the uplink and downlink secure against enemy jammers and so on.

project will be killed after Avenger drones are bought.

 

[tejas warrior]

@DRDO_India's Rustom-2 MALE UAV has flown for the first time today. At least 76 units are projected for use by the Indian military.

 

[Prashant12]

DRDO's combat drone Rustom-2 flies for the first time

BENGALURU: After a considerable delay, Rustom-2, India's long endurance Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) finally completed its first flight early on Tuesday in Challakere, about 200km from Bengaluru.

The UCAV, which is in the medium-altitude, long endurance (MALE) category of vehicles, sources in the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), which developed the vehicle said "met all the expectations" during the first flight.

First scheduled in late 2013, the three year delay of the first flight had only added to the timeline, which is punctuated by other delays during development- even as the Indian armed forces are increasingly looking outside the country for combat drones with deals already struck with Israeli firms.
Rustom-2, the developers however claim will be an aircraft unlike any other UAV in the ranks of our forces. It has a wingspan of more than 20m and an endurance of 24-30 hours.

Equipped with contemporary technology, it will need a runway to takeoff and land unlike traditional UAVs, which makes it more trustworthy. Compared to Rustom-I, the advanced version will have enhanced aerodynamic configuration, digital flight control and navigation system.
"Besides, it will also have automatic takeoff and landing capabilities, this version of Rustom is comparable to some of the best in the world," sources in ADE said.

While the ADE hopes to bag orders from all the three wings of the armed forces— army, navy and the air force— its ability to stick to deadlines and also give a good quality platform will be key. The Indian army, which had inducted DRDO's earlier UAV Nishanth, had to face several crashes and is contemplating junking it with no fresh induction planned.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...s-for-the-first-time/articleshow/55450539.cms

 

[republic_roi97]

DRDO's combat drone Rustom-2 flies for the first time

 

[republic_roi97]

Size wise, it is comparable to MQ-9 Reaper and bigger than Avenger, Predator etc but of half wingspan of Global Hawk. I think it is of the league of MQ-9 and MQ-1.

 

[Navnit Kundu]

The challenges you are talking are talk of past in 70s, The Lakshya PTA which is not a dedicated UAV can be programmed in mid flight ( secure uplink and downlink ) and can change its flight path this include dropping of its targets package for SAMs ( Bombs can be included ), This PTA could have changed into a Armed UAV but forces wanted a dedicated design, The Nishant and rustom series are way beyond the 80s technology of Lakshya which you are referring a challenge to this generation.

Such imports are mid term solution not permanent to arm such a large force in Asia, But Avenger will surely give away for Indegnious designs based on it, And this could effect 5th generation fighter strength in numbers specially PAKFA and AMCA ( off-topic )

Thanks for your response. Can you also tell us under whose command these drones are usually put? is there something like a strategic aviation division which maintains all unmanned assets and provides live feeds to infantry? or are infantry commanders given their own unmanned assets? or even worse, are all these drones under the bureaucratic control of IAF?

 

[Akask kumar]

(Breaking)
1st flight of Rustom 2 is successful!!

finally !! .................................................

 

[Akask kumar]

project will be killed after Avenger drones are bought.

i dnt think so .. Avenger drones are recon cum combat drones(costly) and wiil be used in very crucial /imp missions by military. whereas rustom 2 is frugal,solely recon drones and will come handy in regular missions..

Plus military cant rely solely on import for drones in future.. as the predator drones are very costly.we will use the american drone to fill the gap ..

Sucess of Rustom 2 has ensured that we dont have to import any drone as far as recon is concerned .. But we will need a few for combat purpose.

i dnt think this program will be derailed but will be boosted .

we should expect rustom 3 to be combat version with high service ceiling ???

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Any pics and videos?

project will be killed after Avenger drones are bought.

No, Armed Forces will operate a mix of Indigenous and imported drones.

 

[Blackwater]

Finally, @DRDO_India might be ready for the first flight of #Rustom-2 within the next few days. @mathrubhumieng

congrats Rustom 2 joined The league of LCA,Arjun, Nag and Akash:biggrin2::biggrin2::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:

 

[Blackwater]

why Rustum 1 was never inducted ? after first flight in 2009 ??

& what are the sensors in Rustom 2 ? it has synthetic aperture radars ??

trust me this will also never inducted like rustom 1. i have full trust in DRDO

 

[republic_roi97]

Unmanned aerial vehicle successfully tested

 

[Akshay_Fenix]

2 year old video. Hard work from our R&D wing has finally paid off. Kudos to all who worked on this project.

 

[airtel]

cost of Turkish Anka drone was 200 million$ per piece ..............DRDO Rustom 2 drone will be costly too ............on the other Hand Israeli & American drones are cheaper because of Mass production .

this is why India will choose foreign Drones ...few Americans & rest of the Israeli ..........there is Joint venture between Adani & elbit of Israel to Make drones in India .

 

[Akask kumar]

Any pics and videos?

No, Armed Forces will operate a mix of Indigenous and imported drones.

u just remove the comma and the whole meaning of the above sentence changes.. LOL..

Yes.. if predator drones get shot it will cost us heavily but if Rustom 2 get shot no problemo just order few more..

warfare tactics are changing with advancement in tech.. in a decade i can bet even predator drones will become obsolete.. having a UAV program can save lot of money in future plus we can keep optimizing/modifying as per our requirements..

Yes we can always import to fill in the delivery gaps by DRDO,ADA etc.. development takes time as resources are limited initially , but gradually capability improves.

Rustom 3 wont take much time(if there is such program planned)..

 

[Akask kumar]

cost of Turkish Anka drone was 200 million$ per piece ..............DRDO Rustom 2 drone will be costly too ............on the other Hand Israeli & American drones are cheaper because of Mass production .

this is why India will choose foreign Drones ...few Americans & rest of the Israeli ..........there is Joint venture between Adani & elbit of Israel to Make drones in India .

http://www.defensenews.com/story/de...a-finalizes-3b-blueprint-uav-fleets/81637026/

10 MALE Rustoms at a cost of $225 million;

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing a variety of UAVs for the services, including:

• Air Force: Three Rustom UCAVs and one ground station at a cost of $60 million; two stealth UCAVs called autonomous unmanned research aircraft (AURA) and one ground station for $75 million; 30 Nirbhay UAVs and unspecified numbers of Lakshya-II remotely piloted high speed target drones at a cost of $531,687 per unit.

• Navy: Three Rustom UCAVs and one ground station for $60 million with 12 more to come; 10 MALE Rustoms at a cost of $225 million; four Pawan mini UAVs for $33.2 million; 50 air- and ship-launched Nirbhay UAVs; three rotary UAVs at a cost of $232 million; unspecified numbers of Netra micro UAVs for $50,000 per unit; and Gagan tactical UAVs at a cost of $55 million with help from Israel.

• Army:Three Rustom UCAVs and one ground station at a cost of $60 million and 12 more in the future; 10 Rustom-2 UCAVs for $342.3 million; 12 Nishant UAVs at a cost of $5 million each; and three hybrid mini-UAVs and one ground station for $350,000.

DRDO is also supplying about 25 Netra micro UAVs to Indian paramilitary forces at a cost of $50,000 per unit.

so cost of 1 rustom is between 22-35 million $

cost of 1 heron 40 million $[its armed version]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...p-drones-from-israel/articleshow/48906195.cms

but India is likely to buy 250 predator drones for 5 billion $.that is 20 million $ per unit.. its cheaper than above both ..
how is this possible??will US sell their drones at such a lower price compared to others?

http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/us-predator-drones-coming-to-india/293955/

 

[Rahul Singh]

congrats Rustom 2 joined The league of LCA,Arjun, Nag and Akash:biggrin2::biggrin2::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:

I liked this post because Tejas and Akash belongs to different group and deserves usarcastic congratulations. I hope you knew it. The Arjun and Nag are different story though.