India’s SLYBIRD Mini-drone Payload Flights Soon

The National Aeronautics Lab (NAL) Slybird drone, first revealed earlier this year on Livefist is shortly to begin a second phase of trial flights with a videocamera/IR payload. Its first phase of launches was completed in July this year. The drone is part of the larger micro air vehicle effort funded by the Ministries of Defence and Science & Technology to meet multiple requirements of portable drones for tactical/over-the-hill reconnaisance/intelligence. NAL sources suggest that they intend to create a drone with capabilities comparable to the US Army’s Raven. Will post a video of the Slybird in flight soon.

Photo / NAL

16 thoughts on “India’s SLYBIRD Mini-drone Payload Flights Soon”

  1. Well, check out youtube.com and you will find kids in west can build more advanced remote controlled planes then slybird! Shame it's taking years to develop it.

  2. Bravo! It is really appreciable on the part of DRDO and Science & Technology department. Wish we make capable drone Bomber soon!

  3. Guys dont get so euphoric…this SLYBIRD is not tottaly indegenious product.It is being bulit in collaboration with Elbit systems from Israel.Check out the photos in Elbit systems website…..However it is a valuable one for Indian army.Does not matter frm where it is made….Good to see our army moving forward with technology and NCW…..And what abt the MMRCA…still no news …it was to be declared mid december as quoted by IAF cheif…present Indian Govt is the slowest one in decision making

  4. @ 8:07

    boy u don't have any idea as wat u r talking abt..obviously ur an idiot who is unable to understand between a toy plane and a drone…and u r idiot enough to go to youtube and refer to west for tat…if u had a bit of brain..u wud have found ppl somewhere and ur house playing with those birds….so I hope next time u will think atleast once before opening u mouth and criticising someone who is trying to do something..

  5. I do not think Broadsword will be reading much about F-35. His arrogance will be his downfall. He is so stuck to his reports on F-35, any criticism on F-35 was not entertained and countered by virulent personal attacks. Forget about counter arguments. He simply does not know how to defend his own sentences. Every newspaper in the world say F-35 is a delayed 5th Gen fighter. It will not see the sunrise until at least 2018 or 2020. But Broadsword says It will be ready by 2015-2016; and where does he get the info, from LM.
    One way I am happy that he is not with Indian Army anymore. I feel sorry for the soldiers who used to work under him, who shows this kind of arrogance…

    Finally, you may find this comment a personal attacks. I am NOT personally attacking Broadsword. But I am very disappointed with his comments and his inabilities to support his arguments to his readers. If he does not respect free speech, why to allow comments? He should close down the comment section.

  6. To 8:07 Anonymous:
    Would you be kind to enlighten me with difference between an RC plane and a drone?! OR are you one of the guy who is building it and can't take the truth.

    For every simple or complex project, unfortunately we indian can't take a step own our own.. unless we have a Gora master to bribe our Babus and pat our backs!

    If we can build AWACS system but can't build toy like drone! shame on us!!!!!

  7. @anon 8:07 PM lol !! ur really a nerd 😛 those western or chinese wateva they made r toys only !! i know ur talking "banana job " LMFAO . they toy train ie toy not the one in indian railyway is available then why pplz make big trains ??

    developing a advance mini drone have numerous techno logic difficulties .
    if u ask me i will tell u in detail

  8. Hey guys check out this site http://www.aurora-is.com is an indian company manufacturing uav's and aerostats backed by Tata group and was started by a team of 7 IIT Kanpur
    alumni their uav "Urban View" has similar specs to "slybird" and looks even better than slybird in terms of design

  9. Is this a joke? Seriously? I built a bigger Mig-15 prototype at home in my garage in the states and it is more complex than the Slybird. Sorry but that's a joke. No other way of saying it.

  10. Seems many good man hours at DRDO for this…..and we all appreciate the work but seriously cant such smaller projects be handed to private players (who might do a more efficient job with the relatively uncomplicated tech) and DRDO concentrate on high end stuff like gettin the Kaveri engine ready or an improved state,an reliable engine is a must if not now defintely for our future ,seems that project is almost abandoned……and LCA news of late is quite gloomy.DRDO has probably the best brains of the country that are lying unstimulated due to politics/management/incentives/lack of vision…the fault definitely lies at the top.

    HAL's another story of management failure earning bad name for the entire group ,not able to realise potential,they are makin our front line Sukhois in facilites that dont have air conditioners and power tools. Engineers at HAL must be makin the extra mile to keep these birds at such a low crash rate.Hyundai/Maruti/Honda/Tata's makes cars in much better assembly lines and still have so many maintainence issues.
    Sadly corruption and profiteering will never make way for national interest.

  11. DRDO : Can't you develop something better than what the world has. I am hard to hearing we are joining this club or that . Can DRDO say this thing is the best in the world.

    copy cats thankfully they have at least started following Chinese copy cats

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