Maiden Flight of India's Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator

Maiden flight of the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator was carried out by India’s state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Aeronautical Test Range, Chitradurga, Karnataka, today.

Operating in a fully autonomous mode, the aircraft exhibited a perfect flight, including take-off, way point navigation and a smooth touchdown. This flight marks a major milestone in terms of proving critical technologies towards the development of future unmanned aircraft and is significant step towards self-reliance in such strategic defence technologies, the Indian defense ministry said in a release.

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is designed & developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru, a research laboratory of DRDO. It is powered by a small turbofan engine. The airframe, undercarriage and entire flight control and avionics systems used for the aircraft were developed indigenously.