New Delhi: Rustom-2, the drone developed indigenously by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was tested on Friday. Rustom-2 proved its capability by flying at 16,000 feet continuously for 8 hours. The prototype of the Rustom-2 drone will acquire the ability to fly continuously at 26,000 feet for 18 hours. As per received information, work in that direction has already been started. Following the increase in tension with China, India expedited the Rustom-2 development project.
Rustom-2 is equipped with Synthetic Aperture Radar, Electronic Intelligence System and Situational Awareness System. This drone also has a satellite communication link. It is claimed that this will prove vital in a war scenario. Senior officials informed that even after the completion of the 8-hour flight, fuel enough for another one more hour of the flight was noticed extra in the drone.
Israeli-made Heron Drones, deployed in the Indian defence forces, are being armed. They are being fitted with laser-guided bombs. The union government has cleared the proposal for modifications to the Heron drone. At the same time, work is being carried out on the Rustom drone. The DRDO target is to make Rustom comparable to Heron.
Heron drones have been deployed in the air force and navy. More tests will be conducted on the Rustom drones in the coming times, and Rustom-2 will be commissioned in the Indian defence forces at the earliest. This will increase the drone power of India. China has increased its capacity in drone warfare. Therefore, India has initiated expeditious steps to surpass China on this front. Analysts claim that the revival of the Rustom drone project is a part of the same effort.
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