DRDO Ghatak

Ghatak
A scaled down technology demonstrator of DRDO GHATAK ( SWiFT )
Role Stealth Unmanned Combat aerial Vehicle
National origin India
Designer Aeronautical Development Agency
Aeronautical Development Establishment
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
First flight 1 July, 2022[1]
Status Taxi trials, autonomous take off and landing of technology demonstrator completed.
Primary user Indian Air Force (expected)
Number built 3 prototypes [2]

Ghatak (pronounced: gʰɑːt̪ək; lit. 'Deadly' in Hindi)[a], inistially designated as Indian Unmanned Strike Air Vehicle (IUSAV), is an autonomous jet powered stealthy unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV), being developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Air Force.[3][4] The design work on the UCAV is to be carried out by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA). Autonomous Unmanned Research Aircraft (AURA) was a tentative name for the UCAV.[5][6] Details of the project are classified.[7]

The Ghatak UCAV will have an internal weapons bay for carrying missiles, bombs and precision-guided munitions. Its design will be based on a flying-wing concept, and will be powered by a turbofan engine.

The first flight of a scaled down testbed was carried out in July 2022,[8] and that of a full scale prototype is expected in 2025.[9]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference shivaroor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Modeled On US B-2 Spirit, India Joins Elite Group Of Nations With Indigenous, Hi-Speed, Flying-Wing UAV". The EurAsian Times. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  3. ^ "India to develop unmanned combat aerial vehicle". Hindustan Times. IANS. 25 November 2009. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  4. ^ "New Imagery Details Indian Aura UCAV". Aviation Week & Space Technology. 16 July 2012. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference toi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference et was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "India developing unmanned combat aerial vehicle". India Today. 10 June 2010. Archived from the original on 30 July 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  8. ^ Peri, Dinakar (1 July 2022). "DRDO flight tests new autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).