Watch video: DRDO successfully carries out maiden flight of unmanned combat aircraft

New Delhi: On Friday, The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully carried out the maiden flight of the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator. It was carried out from the Aeronautical Test Range, Chitradurga, Karnataka. The flight comes as a major milestone toward the development of unmanned combat aircraft and Made-in-India defence equipment.

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DRDO officials said, “In a major success towards developing unmanned combat aircraft, the maiden flight of the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator was carried out successfully from the Aeronautical Test Range, Chitradurga, Karnataka today.”

#DRDOUpdates | Successful Maiden Flight of Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator@PMOIndia https://t.co/K2bsCRXaYp https://t.co/brHxaH7wbF pic.twitter.com/SbMnI5tgUM

— DRDO (@DRDO_India) July 1, 2022

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Taking to twitter, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Congratulations to @DRDO_India on successful maiden flight of the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator from Chitradurga ATR.It is a major achievement towards autonomous aircrafts which will pave the way for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in terms of critical military systems,” the Defence Minister tweeted.

Congratulations to @DRDO_India on successful maiden flight of the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator from Chitradurga ATR.

It is a major achievement towards autonomous aircrafts which will pave the way for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in terms of critical military systems. pic.twitter.com/pQ4wAhA2ax

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 1, 2022

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The DRDO in a statement said, “Operating in a fully autonomous mode, the aircraft exhibited a perfect flight, including take-off, way point navigation and a smooth touchdown. This flight marks a major milestone in terms of proving critical technologies towards the development of future unmanned aircraft and is a significant step towards self-reliance in such strategic defence technologies.” The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is “powered by a small turbofan engine. The airframe, undercarriage and entire flight control and avionics systems used for the aircraft were developed indigenously.”