High-speed expendable aerial target Abhyas successfully tested by DRDO

The aircraft is programmed for a fully autonomous flight

NEW DELHI: India successfully tested the indigenously designed ABHYAS - a Highspeed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) - in Odisha on Wednesday. The trial was carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur.

"ABHYAS is designed & developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The air vehicle was launched using twin under-slung boosters which provide the initial acceleration to the vehicle. It is powered by a small gas turbine engine to sustain a long endurance flight at high subsonic speed. The target aircraft is equipped with Micro-Electromechanical Systems-based Inertial Navigation System for navigation along with the Flight Control Computer for guidance and control along with Indigenous Radio Altimeter for very low altitude flight and Data Link for encrypted communication between the Ground Control Station and Target Aircraft. The vehicle is programmed for fully autonomous flight," the official statement of the ministry stated.

In the official tweeter account, DRDO also mentioned, "Strengthening indigenous capabilities, #ABHYAS-HEAT has been successfully flight tested from ITR today. The test demonstrated the performance at low altitude including sustained level & high manoeuvrability."

The aircraft is programmed for a fully autonomous flight, meaning that it flies under the control of automatic systems and needs no intervention from a human pilot. During the test flight, the aircraft was flown from a ground-based controller to examine its manoeuvrability and performance at low altitudes. The air vehicle was launched using twin under-slung boosters during the demonstration, which provided initial acceleration. It is powered by a small gas turbine engine for endurance flights at high subsonic speed.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO and the Indian armed forces for the successful trial and said that the development of this system would meet the requirements of aerial targets for the armed forces, a press release stated.

A day earlier, the defence research body and the Army also successfully tested an indigenously-developed anti-tank guided missile in Maharashtra.

In the last week, India also test-fired the Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) in Chandipur. The VL-SRSAM is a shipborne weapon system meant for neutralising various aerial threats at close ranges including sea-skimming targets.

Last week, India also test-fired the Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) in Chandipur