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

airtel

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In all fairness, one design engineer from the Tapas/Rustom project did accept his mistake of trying to go with a twin-engine configuration for Rustom which, he says, caused the entire system to become chronically overweight thereby delaying the project.
I don't like those who criticize DRDO without reason, but @Raj Malhotra is correct here. Rustom being delayed is DRDO's own unforced error.
What is his name and designation ? Another random unnamed spokesperson for media ?
He may be just expressing his opinions , not the fact .,... Rustom 1 was single engine UAV .

, rustom 2 is twin engine .there are advantages and disadvantages of twin engine configuration .
Countries around the globe are developing twin engine male UAVs .

Here is an European UAV being being developed by France , Germany Italy and Spain .

Here is an Israeli UAV .

Russian male UAV


Also this tapas is a technology demonstrator and
Not a final product under manufacturing , it is used to develop and validate various technologies Which are not dependent on it's engine configuration , the technology development due to this technology demonstrator will be used in future Indian UAVs .
 
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Assassin 2.0

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Rustom-2 completes 8 hours Endurance flight, 18 hours flight next Published October 10, 2020 | By admin SOURCE: HINDUSTAN TIMES Overcoming the initial program setbacks, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) on Friday flight tested the Rustom-2 medium altitude long endurance indigenous prototype drone and achieved eight hours of flying at an altitude of 16000 feet at Chitradurga, Karnataka. The prototype is expected to achieve a height of 26000 feet and endurance of 18 hours by 2020 end. Rustom-2 is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads depending on the mission objectives including synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence systems and situational awareness systems. It has a satellite communication link to relay situation in the battle theatre on real time basis. “ The Rustom-2 had one hour of fuel left after eight hours of test flying at Challakere aeronautical test range in Chitradurga district of Karanataka and had achieved the test flight ceiling,” said a senior official. While the DRDO expects Rustom-2 surveillance drone to match the specifications of the Israeli Heron unmanned aerial vehicle used by the Indian Air Force and Navy, it has revitalized its drone program with a new mission head and objectives. The push to Rustom-2 program was given after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) tried to occupy Indian territory in Ladakh on the basis of a 1959 cartographical claim on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The PLA has Wing Loong II armed drones in its arsenal and has even given four of them to Pakistan to protect the CPEC corridor and Gwadar port. Although the Rustom-2 will have to undergo test and user trials before inducted in the Indian military, the Ministry of Defence is currently negotiating with Israeli Aerospace Industry (IAI) to not only upgrade the existing fleet of Heron drone but also arm them with air to surface missile and laser guided bombs. According to South Block officials, the technical upgradation and arming of Heron drone is at contract negotiating committee level after being cleared by the Defence Acquisition Committee (DAC). The project will be cleared at the level of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). The Heron upgrade involves installing a satellite communication link so that there is no time gap in relaying situation on ground as well as installing hard points on the wings for missiles and laser guided bombs. While the Israelis have kept their armed drone program under cover, the Heron has a proven weaponized version. Besides, India has also decided to go in for American MQ 9B armed drone instead of Sea Guardian surveillance drone with cost and numbers being worked out. Clearly, the future belongs to stand-off weapons and India this time will not miss the bus

idrw.org .Read more at India No 1 Defence News Website https://idrw.org/rustom-2-completes-8-hours-endurance-flight-18-hours-flight-next/ .
 

WolfPack86

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Rustom-2 Drone Successfully Flight-Tested, India Goes For Armed Heron UAVs
Rustom-2 is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads depending on the mission objectives including synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence systems and situational awareness systems. Rustom-2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), designed to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance roles for the Indian Armed Forces

Overcoming the initial program setbacks, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) on Friday flight tested the Rustom-2 medium altitude long endurance indigenous prototype drone and achieved eight hours of flying at an altitude of 16000 feet at Chitradurga, Karnataka. The prototype is expected to achieve a height of 26000 feet and endurance of 18 hours by 2020 end.

Rustom-2 is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads depending on the mission objectives including synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence systems and situational awareness systems. It has a satellite communication link to relay situation in the battle theatre on real time basis. “ The Rustom-2 had one hour of fuel left after eight hours of test flying at Challakere aeronautical test range in Chitradurga district of Karnataka and had achieved the test flight ceiling,” said a senior official.

While the DRDO expects Rustom-2 surveillance drone to match the specifications of the Israeli Heron unmanned aerial vehicle used by the Indian Air Force and Navy, it has revitalized its drone program with a new mission head and objectives. The push to Rustom-2 program was given after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) tried to occupy Indian territory in Ladakh on the basis of a 1959 cartographical claim on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The PLA has Wing Loong II armed drones in its arsenal and has even given four of them to Pakistan to protect the CPEC corridor and Gwadar port.

Although the Rustom-2 will have to undergo test and user trials before inducted in the Indian military, the Ministry of Defence is currently negotiating with Israeli Aerospace Industry (IAI) to not only upgrade the existing fleet of Heron drone but also arm them with air to surface missile and laser guided bombs.

According to South Block officials, the technical upgradation and arming of Heron drone is at contract negotiating committee level after being cleared by the Defence Acquisition Committee (DAC). The project will be cleared at the level of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).

The Heron upgrade involves installing a satellite communication link so that there is no time gap in relaying situation on ground as well as installing hard points on the wings for missiles and laser guided bombs. While the Israelis have kept their armed drone program under cover, the Heron has a proven weaponized version.

Besides, India has also decided to go in for American MQ-9B armed drone instead of Sea Guardian surveillance drone with cost and numbers being worked out. Clearly, the future belongs to stand-off weapons and India this time will not miss the bus.

The Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Regulation Bill 2020, that aims to regulate clinics offering IVF and other assisted reproductive services in the country, has been referred to the standing committee on health and family welfare for examination. The committee has been asked to report with their suggestions within three months.

Chairman, Rajya Sabha, in consultation with the Speaker of Lok Sabha referred the Bill to the standing committee earlier this week.

The bill—which was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the monsoon session of Parliament in September— proposes constitution of a national board that will set the minimum standards of physical infrastructure, laboratory and diagnostic equipment and expert manpower to be employed by clinics and banks while offering their services.

There will be a National Registry and Registration Authority to maintain a central database and assist the national board in its functioning. The bill also proposes stringent punishment for those practising sex selection, sale of human embryos or gametes (reproductive cells), and running agencies, rackets and organisations that violate the law.

Assisted reproductive technology services have grown significantly in the past few years in India, and the country has one of the highest growths documented in ART centres and the number of ART cycles (the process in which an ART procedure is performed each year).

India has become one of the major centres of this global fertility industry, with reproductive medical tourism too becoming popular. Clinics in India offer most ART services — gamete donation, intrauterine insemination (IUI), IVF etc., and gestational surrogacy. However, there is till now no standardisation of protocols, and reporting to the authorities is still inadequate.

The exact number of clinics running in the country is also not clear even as authorities estimate that close to 3,000 of such clinics may be operational across the country, with little or no supervision. The new law—meant to help put in these checks and a regulatory framework—will also make it mandatory for these clinics to register with the government and share information about the services they offer.

The bill is the most recent in a series of legislations that have been introduced to protect and safeguard the reproductive rights of women, including the Surrogacy Bill and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy amendment Bill.
 

WolfPack86

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Rustom-2 completes 8 hours Endurance flight, 18 hours flight next

Overcoming the initial program setbacks, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) on Friday flight tested the Rustom-2 medium altitude long endurance indigenous prototype drone and achieved eight hours of flying at an altitude of 16000 feet at Chitradurga, Karnataka. The prototype is expected to achieve a height of 26000 feet and endurance of 18 hours by 2020 end. Rustom-2 is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads depending on the mission objectives including synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence systems and situational awareness systems. It has a satellite communication link to relay situation in the battle theatre on real time basis. “ The Rustom-2 had one hour of fuel left after eight hours of test flying at Challakere aeronautical test range in Chitradurga district of Karanataka and had achieved the test flight ceiling,” said a senior official. While the DRDO expects Rustom-2 surveillance drone to match the specifications of the Israeli Heron unmanned aerial vehicle used by the Indian Air Force and Navy, it has revitalized its drone program with a new mission head and objectives. The push to Rustom-2 program was given after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) tried to occupy Indian territory in Ladakh on the basis of a 1959 cartographical claim on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The PLA has Wing Loong II armed drones in its arsenal and has even given four of them to Pakistan to protect the CPEC corridor and Gwadar port. Although the Rustom-2 will have to undergo test and user trials before inducted in the Indian military, the Ministry of Defence is currently negotiating with Israeli Aerospace Industry (IAI) to not only upgrade the existing fleet of Heron drone but also arm them with air to surface missile and laser guided bombs. According to South Block officials, the technical upgradation and arming of Heron drone is at contract negotiating committee level after being cleared by the Defence Acquisition Committee (DAC). The project will be cleared at the level of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). The Heron upgrade involves installing a satellite communication link so that there is no time gap in relaying situation on ground as well as installing hard points on the wings for missiles and laser guided bombs. While the Israelis have kept their armed drone program under cover, the Heron has a proven weaponized version. Besides, India has also decided to go in for American MQ 9B armed drone instead of Sea Guardian surveillance drone with cost and numbers being worked out. Clearly, the future belongs to stand-off weapons and India this time will not miss the bus.
 

ShukantC

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honestly I think DRDO needs to wrap up the development of the Tapas ASAP, cause I doubt the Indian armed forces are not gonna wait much longer especially with pak signing with Turkey for the Anka MALE UAV and also the news of Adani manufacturing and offering the Hermes 900 uav to the armed forces, which can eat up at the orders meant for the Tapas.

Hopefully all goes well for the Tapas UAV in the future and it doesn't end up like the Nishant UAV
 

Aniruddha Mulay

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honestly I think DRDO needs to wrap up the development of the Tapas ASAP, cause I doubt the Indian armed forces are not gonna wait much longer especially with pak signing with Turkey for the Anka MALE UAV and also the news of Adani manufacturing and offering the Hermes 900 uav to the armed forces, which can eat up at the orders meant for the Tapas.

Hopefully all goes well for the Tapas UAV in the future and it doesn't end up like the Nishant UAV
Tapas Bh-201 has just one developmental trial remaining, to demonstrate 24hr endurance at 30,000ft. Construction of 6 prototypes for user trials is already underway.
Now that the Tapas Bh-201 engines are being upgraded 220hp, it can pretty much carry a payload of 700-1000kg, that is more than double that of the 300-350kg payload that the IAI Heron and Hermes 900 drones can carry.
So in terms of payload, the Hermes 900 and Heron sit in a class below the Tapas, so its highly unlikely the Tapas will be ditched for Hermes 900.
If IAI however offers the Eitan/Heron TP, which is pretty much the MQ-9 Reaper category, then things might change.
 

ShukantC

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Tapas Bh-201 has just one developmental trial remaining, to demonstrate 24hr endurance at 30,000ft. Construction of 6 prototypes for user trials is already underway.
Now that the Tapas Bh-201 engines are being upgraded 220hp, it can pretty much carry a payload of 700-1000kg, that is more than double that of the 300-350kg payload that the IAI Heron and Hermes 900 drones can carry.
So in terms of payload, the Hermes 900 and Heron sit in a class below the Tapas, so its highly unlikely the Tapas will be ditched for Hermes 900.
If IAI however offers the Eitan/Heron TP, which is pretty much the MQ-9 Reaper category, then things might change.
That's some good news. have been following this program from the start. Will love to see it in all the 3 arms of the forces and then some.....
 
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Tapas Bh-201 has just one developmental trial remaining, to demonstrate 24hr endurance at 30,000ft. Construction of 6 prototypes for user trials is already underway.
Now that the Tapas Bh-201 engines are being upgraded 220hp, it can pretty much carry a payload of 700-1000kg, that is more than double that of the 300-350kg payload that the IAI Heron and Hermes 900 drones can carry.
So in terms of payload, the Hermes 900 and Heron sit in a class below the Tapas, so its highly unlikely the Tapas will be ditched for Hermes 900.
If IAI however offers the Eitan/Heron TP, which is pretty much the MQ-9 Reaper category, then things might change.
Actually the Eitan/Heron TP has a much higher endurance (30+ hours vs 14 hours) than the MQ9B. However the Predator B has a slightly higher (50000 vs 46000) max service ceiling. Both are HALE and not MALE. I guess we are buying HALE for surveillance at Himalayan heights.

Also, I believe TAPAS Bh-201 (which is a MALE) has an intermediate test for 18 hour endurance at 24000 feet. Then comes the 24hr endurance at 30000 feet. We are way behind in the MALE drone race. LOL. This is one area where the Indian private sector should develop a world class capability leading to substantial defense exports - both HW and SW.
 

Kalkioftoday

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Actually the Eitan/Heron TP has a much higher endurance (30+ hours vs 14 hours) than the MQ9B. However the Predator B has a slightly higher (50000 vs 46000) max service ceiling. Both are HALE and not MALE. I guess we are buying HALE for surveillance at Himalayan heights.

Also, I believe TAPAS Bh-201 (which is a MALE) has an intermediate test for 18 hour endurance at 24000 feet. Then comes the 24hr endurance at 30000 feet. We are way behind in the MALE drone race. LOL. This is one area where the Indian private sector should develop a world class capability leading to substantial defense exports - both HW and SW.
Heron TP actually uses a much powerful engine and can take much more load than a reaper. We are buying Heron TP for 40 million each than i don't why we are still going for 100 million dollars reaper. There must be something americans are giving us that the Israelis aren't. Today there was an article regarding india purchase of MQ9B and there the author mentioned something about the TOT. Does anyone have any idea what kind of TOT we are getting with this 3 billion dollars drone deal??
 
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1. Interesting to note that the MQ9Bs were actually NOT deployed in the LAC skirmish. Again extreme conservatism by Indian defense setup.

2. The DAC led by Rajnath wants to know more about the deal and looks like they are stalling for additional information such as ToT details. They have not issued the AoN yet. Also, I am not sure why General Atomics would transfer tech, unless they are forming a JV production center in India which will bring down the price of the Reaper to Heron TP like levels and this JV can get more deals world over.

3. On Tapas BH-201 this article says that Indian private industry has no experience in drone building and hence HAL will productionize the drone (whenever that is). The process seems to lack transparency already as TASL and a few other aerospace private companies have critical experience building flying systems including drones.
 

Rajaraja Chola

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1. Interesting to note that the MQ9Bs were actually NOT deployed in the LAC skirmish. Again extreme conservatism by Indian defense setup.

2. The DAC led by Rajnath wants to know more about the deal and looks like they are stalling for additional information such as ToT details. They have not issued the AoN yet. Also, I am not sure why General Atomics would transfer tech, unless they are forming a JV production center in India which will bring down the price of the Reaper to Heron TP like levels and this JV can get more deals world over.

3. On Tapas BH-201 this article says that Indian private industry has no experience in drone building and hence HAL will productionize the drone (whenever that is). The process seems to lack transparency already as TASL and a few other aerospace private companies have critical experience building flying systems including drones.
ToT doesn't necessarily bring down the cost. Infact it increases the cost. Reason being you have to scout for new vendors, transfer design, train them, make new jigs etc and it will result in more price than the OEM make. Reason why Su30 mki is more costly in HAL than in Russia.

The advantage is it will result in some kinda tech transfer (even screw driver ones) transfer and result in the company making a new product of its own. It will happen only if the company is ready to burn some R&D.
 

Indx TechStyle

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LOL. This is one area where the Indian private sector should develop a world class capability
Capability and technology can only be funded and undertaken by government. Private sector can only mass produce existing technology in country.

Private companies anywhere in world are simply about profits. Those few like Lockheed investing in R&D are exceptional cases.
 
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Capability and technology can only be funded and undertaken by government. Private sector can only mass produce existing technology in country.

Private companies anywhere in world are simply about profits. Those few like Lockheed investing in R&D are exceptional cases.
Not really. A lot of Venture funded startups are all about R&D. They are not about profits. Most startups go IPO despite massive losses. Most technology startups including Amazon had massive losses yet had successful IPOs. If India’s private companies can come up with a viable, high quality, price competitive military-grade drone, funding would never be a problem. I have a feeling that companies like TASL/TBAL are developing expertise at a very fast rate, thanks to their international joint ventures with Boeing, LM, Raytheon etc. . Many private aerospace companies in Bangalore are also developing pretty good expertise. There are pretty good chances that the private sector may trailblaze in India, thanks to the opening up of space and defense sectors to the private industry. It is the dawn of a new age for us where inefficient PSUs may fall by the wayside.
 

ezsasa

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Not really. A lot of Venture funded startups are all about R&D. They are not about profits. Most startups go IPO despite massive losses. Most technology startups including Amazon had massive losses yet had successful IPOs. If India’s private companies can come up with a viable, high quality, price competitive military-grade drone, funding would never be a problem. I have a feeling that companies like TASL/TBAL are developing expertise at a very fast rate, thanks to their international joint ventures with Boeing, LM, Raytheon etc. . Many private aerospace companies in Bangalore are also developing pretty good expertise. There are pretty good chances that the private sector may trailblaze in India, thanks to the opening up of space and defense sectors to the private industry. It is the dawn of a new age for us where inefficient PSUs may fall by the wayside.
There is a difference between building line of sight quadcopters and the ones that need runway and satellite link to operate.

Not sure how many indian private companies have access to their own runways to launch and test a MALE drone, and then comes satcom.

does India have it’s own geostationary satellite constellation for long range drone communication?
 

Okabe Rintarou

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There is a difference between building line of sight quadcopters and the ones that need runway and satellite link to operate.
Not sure how many indian private companies have access to their own runways to launch and test a MALE drone, and then comes satcom.
Wasn't there some scheme allowing private sector enterprises to access DRDO facilities for R&D? Access to a runway for MALE UAVs should be no problem for private sector, given that scheme. The problem seems to be corporate risk assessment deems such projects unviable due to the amount of R&D involved, lack of indigenous COTS components and the uncertainity due to Armed Forces changing qualitative requirements frequently. Once private sector starts getting regular contracts from the Armed Forces in things such as quadcopters, maybe the private sector will start to think of some R&D driven capital intensive projects.

does India have it’s own geostationary satellite constellation for long range drone communication?
GSAT-7A should do.
 

ezsasa

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Wasn't there some scheme allowing private sector enterprises to access DRDO facilities for R&D? Access to a runway for MALE UAVs should be no problem for private sector, given that scheme. The problem seems to be corporate risk assessment deems such projects unviable due to the amount of R&D involved, lack of indigenous COTS components and the uncertainity due to Armed Forces changing qualitative requirements frequently. Once private sector starts getting regular contracts from the Armed Forces in things such as quadcopters, maybe the private sector will start to think of some R&D driven capital intensive projects.


GSAT-7A should do.
on the satcom part, if capability existed TAPAS 201 would have flown from Bangalore to Delhi by now. Endurance tests seems to be happening within Karnataka at the moment.

on the private companies part, even today they are hardly creating something new in major items segment on their own. They are mostly working on ToT model for now.

DRDO designs, private players manufacture. or foreign company designs, Indian private players manufacture.

So when it comes to MALE drones, indian private players are not ready yet. More over with current DAP rules, with “no cost no commitment” basis, indian private players very unlikely to venture into this space in terms of R&D.
 

Chinmoy

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honestly I think DRDO needs to wrap up the development of the Tapas ASAP, cause I doubt the Indian armed forces are not gonna wait much longer especially with pak signing with Turkey for the Anka MALE UAV and also the news of Adani manufacturing and offering the Hermes 900 uav to the armed forces, which can eat up at the orders meant for the Tapas.

Hopefully all goes well for the Tapas UAV in the future and it doesn't end up like the Nishant UAV
I've seen IA taking some ridiculous decisions, but opting for a UAV to counter another would be on another level and I'd love to see it. Specially when we are already operating Heron, which is generation ahead then Hermes 900 and Anka and already going forward for MQ-9B, it would be hilarious to see IA opting for anything less to be at par with Anka.
 

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