VIDEO: India’s Rustom-1 UAV Takes Off

31 thoughts on “VIDEO: India’s Rustom-1 UAV Takes Off”

  1. Looked like a very shaky take-off and when landing, he was all over the runway. Guessing the pilot is just getting used to the new bird.

    Not sure what its technical capabilities are it looks cool.

    Cujo

  2. Almost crashed during take off. I suspect cross wind. And almost ran out of the runway during landing. This should not happen as the pilots get used to it. Also the UAV looks quite large when you compare it with people standing near by. Oh ya, its beautiful like the guy says in the background. Congo to ADE and other !

  3. Shiv don't you think our scientists should take a lesson or two in DESIGNING weapons & their platforms? Rustom looks ugly compared to ..say the predator. I know its performance that counts in the battlefield but I believe a better designed weapon would also inspire a bit more confidence.

    also in your earlier posts you had said that you will post a more detailed report on :
    1)Agni 2+
    2)India's hypersonic re-entry vehicle(along with lrsam,mrsam,etc)
    3)LCA tejas(could you also report on lca tejas mk2)
    4)Could you also bring more info on AURA, Akash SAM mk2, Brahmos2 and most importantly F-INSAS?
    5)

  4. Hmmm… If the problems of control persist, VTOL may be added to it.

    Anyhow it is an excellent effort and progress by itself.

  5. Why is the DRDO designing products that any private company can design? Kit airplanes and homebuilts are made in sheds in the US. Complete waste of state money to replicate capabilities the private sector can easily deliver.

  6. i will have to agree with the new yorker to some extent. we can fast track this project by taking companies experienced in these kind of systems as consultants. which comes down to an earlier post where it was mentioned that corruption was the root of not getting a private partner too!!!

  7. i will have to agree with the new yorker to some extent. we can fast track this project by taking companies experienced in these kind of systems as consultants. which comes down to an earlier post where it was mentioned that corruption was the root of not getting a private partner too!!!

  8. A UAV is not just a plane that flies using remote control. It flies at 25000 to 30000 ft above the ground, and remains airborn for 12-14 hours on auto-pilot, to say the least.

  9. To New Yorker/Kos:

    Anything that flies with remote controls does not become UAV fit to be used in battlefield. It's either arrogant or ignorant to believe what gets assembled in garages will be deployed for military ops. Only a handful of countries have the coveted UAV technology which is not for sale; atleast for now. The private companies, located outside India, that may've expertise in 'sections' of UAV tech are often bound by export restrictions.

    This leaves with the option to develop atleast the core of the UAV technology in India for Indian military ops. I would not be surprised if some consultants may already be hired to direct and assist in delivering the final product.

  10. For Critics
    Plz understand this is only a TD, for checking on board systems, u ppl might have seen RUSTON -H in Aero India-09, its huge and bit good looking in design parameters.

  11. To [email protected]

    You are quite wrong. There is nothing coveted about UAV technology, or even sensors that are available off the shelf. We are not talking about stealth UCAVs. If private firms can build small aircraft as Taneja and Mahindra do they can certainly build UAVs with the performance parameters of the Rustom MALE.

    I hope you are aware that the Rutan Long EZ is a homebuilt, and forms the basis of this Rustom UAV as well as the NAL LCRA. So even the Rustom UAV is essentially the development of a homebuilt aircraft made by a small private corporation.

  12. @ new yorker..
    sure…then why the bloody hell isnt every company that makes small a/c,..say cessna for eg not making UAVs…
    coz to remove the pilot to a remote location without compromising situational awareness takes immense effort…if u have driven an r/c toy with the view from a camera mounted atop…well that would give u a sense of what i'm saying

  13. Looks like our critics cannot see beyond dogs and "almost crashed". lets give the team that built this UAV the complete credit. Invariable of the technologies available off the shelf, the basic theme underlying this is the self reliance. Comparing it with intruder or predator is simply illogical. This is just a test model. The wings look good enough to carry a decent payload of weapons. How ever the definition is not visible. Apart from what is seen a a mast sensor would be more prudent.

  14. [email protected]

    I have and I am fully aware that it takes skill to fly an RC aircraft. But tens of thousands of individuals in the US, India and elsewhere fly RC aircraft with great expertise. Feel free to look it up on YouTube.

    However this is not relevant since we are talking about manufacture not operations. As for why Cessna does not make UAVs you should ask them. But scores of private companies do, all you need to do is Google it.

  15. The UAV started wobbling during its take off, its main wings are disproportionately oversized to its weight-size-structure.

    Wing tips are much larger than needed.

    This is a technical flaw, main wings should be trimmed and tailor made.

  16. @kesto
    those are not just wingtips..those have to work as the rudder too
    and the wings are so large so as to give it a large payload

  17. keshto, absolutely right. even the color should be redone. we should hire you for redoing the color and the design. probably based on ur reading of swat kats on tv

  18. Arjun do you have any Idea why the take off was nearly disasterous and the landing went off track ?

    If you have any remedy, do suggest, instead of laughing on fellow forumites.

    Jealousy has no bounds!

  19. Hi,
    I am a masters aerospace student and have done work regarding uav systems. A UAV is a completely different system to a RC aircraft. There are technologies for eg, long range transmission and reception of data. data security, encryption of the control frequencies which are all classified material and only available to certain select parties. On top of that just the guidance source code itself goes into thousands of lines for each parameter. Which is not privy to anybody off the shelf or many industries.
    Plus in a country like India where leading edge tech especially sensor systems are sparsely available and produced by a few select companies it is paramount DRDO gets a handle on that tech in-house.

    just for comparison I made an rc aircraft within first week of my first year in uni and it took a whole years project just to create a control system for a military spec uav. 🙂

    Just my 2 cents no disrespect intended.

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