DRDO Nishant
The DRDO Nishant is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) developed by India's ADE (Aeronautical Development Establishment) a branch of DRDO for the Indian Armed Forces. The Nishant UAV is primarily tasked with intelligence gathering over enemy territory and also for recce, surveillance, target designation, artillery fire correction, damage assessment, ELINT and SIGINT. The UAV has an Endurance of 4 hrs & 30min. Nishant has completed development Phase and User trials.
The 380 kg Nishant UAV requires rail-launching from a hydro-pneumatic launcher and recovered by a Parachute System. Launches at a velocity of 45 m/s are carried out in 0.6 seconds with 100 kW power and subsequent launches can be carried out in intervals of 20 minutes. The Mobile Hydro-Pneumatic Launcher (MHPL) system mounted on a Tatra truck weighs 14,000 kg and boasts of a life cycle of 1000 launches before requiring overhaul.Nishant is one of the few UAVs in the world in its weight-class capable of being catapult-launched and recovered by using parachute, thus eliminating the need for a runway as in case of conventional take-off and landing with wheels.
Development
To meet the Army’s operational requirement of an RPV it was decided in September 1988 that the Defence Research and Development Organisation would undertake the indigenous development of the UAV. The General Staff Qualitative Requirement (GSQR) was finalised by the Army in May 1990. The Nishant RPV made its first test flight in 1995. In July 1999, for the first time the Indian army deployed its new Nishant UAV system in the fight against guerilla forces backed by Pakistan in Kashmir. Nishant, which had been developed for battlefield surveillance and reconnaissance needs of the Indian Army, was test flown again in early 2002. The indigenous Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Nishant developed by DRDO had completed its 100th flight by June 15 2005.[1] The Indian Army has placed an order for 12 Nishant UAVs along with ground support systems.[2] Nishant Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) developed by DRDO for Indian Army was successfully flight tested near Kolar on 20th June 2008. Nishant has completed development Phase and User trials. The present flight tests are Pre Confirmatory Trials before induction into Services.[3]
Features
- Day/Night Capability
- Battlefield reconnaissance & surveillance
- Target tracking and localization
- Artillery fire correction
- All terrain mobility
- Target Designation (using integral Laser Target Designator)
- Endurance : 4 hrs. 30min.
Ground Support Systems
- Mobile Hydro-Pneumatic Launcher (MHPL)
- Ground Control Station (GCS)
- Antenna Vehicle
- Avionics Preparation / Maintenance Vehicle
- Mechanical Maintenance Vehicle
- UAV Transportation Vehicle
- Power supply Vehicle
Specifications (DRDO Nishant)
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General characteristics
- Crew: None
Performance
Launch & recovery
- Launch: Mobile Hydro-Pneumatic Launcher (MHPL) system
- Recovery: Parachute + Landing Bags
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era