DRDO successfully flight-tested ABHYAS

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight-tested Abhyas High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, off the Bay of Bengal coast in Odisha.
• After the flight test, the ministry of defence informed that the target aircraft will meet the requirements of HEAT for the armed forces.

About DRDO Abhyas

• It has been designed and developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE).
• The indigenous unmanned aerial vehicle will be used as a target for the evaluation of various missile systems.
• Abhyas HEAT is launched using twin under-slung boosters which provide the initial acceleration to the vehicle.
• The state-of-the-art UAV is powered by a small gas turbine engine to sustain a long endurance flight at subsonic speed.
• The ministry of defence said that the performance of the target aircraft was monitored through telemetry and various tracking sensors.
• Abhyas HEAT is equipped with a MEMS-based Inertial Navigation System (INS) for navigation along with the Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control.
• The vehicle is programmed for fully autonomous flight and their check-out is done using a laptop-based Ground Control Station (GCS).
• The expression of interest for the production of the vehicle has already been floated to Indian industries.