Rustom-II :: India’s own Predator Drone will be able to strike deep inside Pakistan And China
Rustom 2 is being developed on the lines of predator drones of the US to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) roles for the armed forces with an endurance of 24 hours, officials said.Rustom 2 is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads like synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence systems and situational awareness payloads, officials said.
Once inducted, this indigenous medium altitude long endurance (MALE) multirole drone is likely to be an asset for Indian armed forces for its surveillance capability as well as for its use as an unmanned armed combat vehicle.
Powered by twin NPO-Saturn 36MT turboprop engines, the Rustom-II is being developed as a long endurance surveillance platform capable of deploying precision weapons.With a wingspan of more than 20m and an endurance of 24-30 hours, the UCAV needs a runway to takeoff and land unlike traditional UAVs, which makes it more trustworthy.
Rustom-2 can control manually or it can work on its mission autonomously. In autonomous mission, navigation system will help which will be installed by DRDO. Most of its critical system like avionics, air-frame, flight control system etc are developed by DRDO ingeniously and if needed collaboration with private player.
The drone can loiter autonomously at high altitudes performing real-time, high-resolution intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) with its SAR and EO sensors. When a target is identified, it will either illuminate the target with a laser designator for other strike aircraft, or descend to lower altitude and attack the target with its own air-to-surface missiles.
During surgical strike army had to rely on imported drone because they have better technology. They can fly at higher altitude and high endurance. Imported drone have better monitoring and filming equipment. But in future Rustom-2 will be used to carry out his type of critical mission because in technology it is comparable to USA predator drone. Rustom-2 have a wingspan of 20 m and it weighs 2 tonne. One more thing is that Rustom-2 is able to take off and land automatically.
Once this Rustom-2 inducted in Armed forces it will be an asset for Armed forces because they can use for surveillance or they can use it as unmanned armed combat vehicle. When a target is identified, it will either illuminate the target with a laser designate for other strike aircraft or attack the with the help of its own Surface to Air missiles.
In contrast to Rustom-I, the next generation version is equipped with enhanced aerodynamic configuration, digital flight control, navigation system, communication intelligence, medium and long-range electro-optic payloads and synthetic aperture radar that will enable it to see through the clouds.
Rustam-2 proposed to have 2-hardpoints similar to MQ-1 predator drones, while MQ-9 reaper drones have 7-hardpoints. Once fully ready, the Rustom UAVs will replace Israeli Heron unmanned aerial vehicles being used by the air force and the navy.
The advanced version of Rustom-II will include greater endurance and service ceiling, in addition to the ability to deploy a wider variety of weapons. The Indian Army, IAF, Navy and Coast Guard have all expressed strong interest in the Rustom-II, though firm orders will clearly only land during advanced flight testing.
Source:- TOPYAPS
