A drone with a Russian “heart”: India has tested a drone with a “flying wing” scheme
India has tested a drone with a flying wing aerodynamic design. It is known that the drone uses a Russian-made engine.
This is reported by the Ministry of Defense of India.
The tests were conducted by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) at the Chitradurga Air Test Site in Karnataka.
The UAV was designed and developed by DRDO, a part of the Aerospace Research and Development Directorate.
The first flight of this aircraft was conducted in July 2022, followed by six more flight tests in various configurations using two prototypes.
It is reported that these flight tests have made progress in the development of a reliable aerodynamic scheme and control system.
The drone is made of a lightweight composite material based on carbon prepreg developed in India. In addition, the composite structure is impregnated with fiber sensors to monitor the condition of the structure.
After the flight, the drone made an autonomous landing, which was made possible by combining data from onboard sensors with satellite GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN).
The Indian Defense Ministry’s press release does not mention the name of the drone, but judging by the photo, we can assume that it is the SWiFT (Stealth Wing Flying Testbed).
The SWiFT is a smaller version of the Ghatak drone, about eight times smaller than it is today. The Ghatak drone is being developed primarily as a strike combat aircraft.
The drone is designed as a flying wing with an air intake above the front of the fuselage. It weighs more than a ton.
The SWiFT is four meters long and has a wingspan of five meters. The device is equipped with a small turbojet engine TRDD-50AT from the Russian company Saturn, which is mainly used in cruise missiles, in particular in the Russian X-35E.
The motor nozzle in SWiFT is designed to be inconspicuous, it is hidden as much as possible in the housing. This is done to reduce the infrared and radar signature of the aircraft.
The demonstrator drone can fly up to 200 kilometers.
