New Delhi: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully carried out the maiden flight of the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator. It was carried out from the Aeronautical Test Range, Chitradurga, Karnataka, on Friday. The flight named – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle – has been designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) in Bengaluru, stated the official press release. Sharing details about the maiden flight, the release added, “Operating in a fully autonomous mode, the aircraft exhibited a perfect flight, including take-off, waypoint navigation and a smooth touchdown.”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.”Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO on the “major achievement towards autonomous aircraft”. “Congratulations to DRDO on the successful maiden flight of the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator from Chitradurga ATR. It is a major achievement towards autonomous aircraft which will pave the way for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in terms of critical military systems,” read the Twitter post. The congratulatory message was attached to a picture featuring the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. 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, 2022DRDO chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy has applauded the “efforts of the teams associated with the design, development and testing of the system.”In a video, shared on Twitter by DRDO, the aircraft can be seen making a perfect take-off and landing. “#DRDOUpdates | Successful Maiden Flight of Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator@PMOIndiahttps://t.co/K2bsCRXaYphttps://t.co/brHxaH7wbFpic.twitter.com/SbMnI5tgUM— DRDO (@DRDO_India) July 1, 2022The DRDO has called it a “ milestone”. The statement read, “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.”
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