New drone will be for surveillance only: DRDO chief

The maiden flight of the Tactical Air-Borne Platform-Beyond Horizon (Tapas-BH 201) prototype was held on November 16 at the DRDO's new aeronautical testing range at Challakere near Chitradurga.

Bengaluru, Nov 20 The new unmanned aerial vehicle that the DRDO has developed and flight tested recently, would be for surveillance and not combat, said a senior official on Sunday.

"The new UAV, re-christened Tapas from Rustom-2, has been developed for surveillance and not for combat purpose," Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman S. Christopher told reporters here.

The maiden flight of the Tactical Air-Borne Platform-Beyond Horizon (Tapas-BH 201) prototype was held on November 16 at the DRDO's new aeronautical testing range at Challakere near Chitradurga in Karnataka.

"We have to make 10 Tapas aircraft for a series of test flights before applying for certification and demonstrating it to the armed forces its surveillance capability in user trials," said Christopher.

The Rs 1,500-crore project for the indigenous medium altitude long endurance drone is meant to replace the Israeli-made Heron UAVs, which are in service with the armed forces.

IANS