Rustom UAV

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India has been working on a MALE UAV for sometime . its called Rustom
http://www.drdo.com/dpi/SAsiaDefnStraRev_.pdf

find image and info towards the end of the document .


In any case its based on the following ;)
from
http://www.acig.org/
 

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DRDO always seems to avoid mention of Israeli involvement. The Rustom MALE UAV, like the Pawan short-range UAV and Gagan TUAV, were developed with IAI assistance.

With the Rustom airframe so obviously based on the Rutan Long EZ kitplane, one wonders if Aeronautics Defense Systems isn't involved as well. Rustom's resemblance to their Dominator will only increase once the required SATCOM radome is installed.

(Dominator was unvield at Aero India 2005 http://www.acig.org/exclusives/aero/acig_aero05_isr.htm)

One puzzle is why DRDO stuck with the Long EZ's non-retractable main gear. The Dominator tucks all three up which would be far more condusive to the planned maritime search radar (presumably EL/M-2022U).

Question: does anyone know why DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment is often listed as 'ADA'?
 
They are two different things of course :)


ADA- Aeronautical development Agency- A Ministry of defence agency looking after the development of the LCA .
ADE - Aeronautical Development Establishment - a DRDO lab
I don't think DRDO is that cagey about mentioning Israeli involvement . it has been saying from the very beginning that joint development is the way forward and Israeli co-operation in the field of UAVs has been explicitly mentioned. Politicians are a different ballgame though, especially if they are of the "secular" variety . It is felt in these circles that any mention of Israel is best avoided keeping 'minority sentiments' in mind.
NAL actually bought the design from Rutan in the early nineties
 
Thanks for the clarification. So, those listing an "ADA Rustom" are in error and this UAV is an ADE product. Correct?

avatar said:
I don't think DRDO is that cagey about mentioning Israeli involvement . it has been saying from the very beginning that joint development is the way forward and Israeli co-operation in the field of UAVs has been explicitly mentioned. Politicians are a different ballgame though, especially if they are of the "secular" variety . It is felt in these circles that any mention of Israel is best avoided keeping 'minority sentiments' in mind.

I stand corrected.

avatar said:
NAL actually bought the design from Rutan in the early nineties

Rummaging around, I see that a Long-Ez at built at the National Aerospace Laboratory in the 1980s (as the Light Canard Research Aircraft, VT-XIU). Did NAL pursue design rights to the Long-Ez based on experience with this LCRA?

I also noticed mention of a Prof Rustom Behram Damania building . Is the UAV named after the professor or this just coincidence?
 
hanks for the clarification. So, those listing an "ADA Rustom" are in error and this UAV is an ADE product. Correct?



hey no problem. Yup its an ADE project .

Rummaging around, I see that a Long-Ez at built at the National Aerospace Laboratory in the 1980s (as the Light Canard Research Aircraft, VT-XIU). Did NAL pursue design rights to the Long-Ez based on experience with this LCRA?
Hmm this whole thing about precisely when the design rights were acquired needs a re-look .Looking into it.
I also noticed mention of a Prof Rustom Behram Damania building . Is the UAV named after the professor or this just coincidence?

You are right about the naming part . it is indeed named after prof Damania who led the development of the LCRA.
 
Government to allow industry participation in indigenous UAV project

Ravi Sharma

BANGALORE:Breaking with tradition the Government has allowed the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) to co-opt a partner from the Indian industry who will join in the development and production of the Rs.1,000 crore, indigenous, medium altitude long endurance, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programme, Rustom.

Traditionally laboratories under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) umbrella develop a product or system, build a prototype of it, prove it in field trials and then transfer the technology to a production agency. A sequential approach which has seen: time delays in making the system operational, poor product management and even obsolesces. The DRDO are therefore exploring ways to move to a regime of concurrent engineering practices where initial design efforts also take into consideration production issues, with the production agency participating in the development of the system right from the design stage, and concurrently developing the necessary infrastructure and expertise for the product and product support. The Rustom programme is the first of this exploration and could become a trendsetter for future projects.
Request for proposals

Confirming the Government’s decision to allow the development of the Rustom in association with a production agency cum development partner (PADP), P.S. Krishnan, Director, ADE told The Hindu that requests for proposals (RFP) would shortly be issued to four vendors: Tatas, Larsen and Toubro, Godrej and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-Bharat Electronics (joint bid).

The chosen PADP will also have a financial stake in the Rustom project. While proposals from the vendors are expected by February, the entire selection process could take 18 months. The users (the armed forces) would also be asked to take up a financial stake. Also, in order to placate apprehension that orders may not be placed the Government might guarantee that a specific number of Rustoms will be bought.



http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=10429
 
Right thanks to k Mehta at Bharat Rakshak, here are some Rustom pics from a recent exhibition called Aerosem 2008 at Bangalore.

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4413&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=Aerosem
 

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Alright this has also been labelled as the Rustom


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o_no4M2xEPY/SZE0UWTVgkI/AAAAAAAAF40/XDcBfZiADP4/s1600-h/DSC01572-781162.JPG
 

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That's very fascinating.
Any information on the engines?
 
Here's another view

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/media/AeroIndia2009/shiv/p2120008.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1
 

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Okay they are calling this big one the Rustom -H . the LCRA based drone has since been dubbed the Rustom-I it has a 75 kg payload capability and is being essentially used to validate some tech for the big one.
 
A couple of questions and notes on the Rustom H:

Are those antennas on the horizontal stabilizer? Are they a reason for it being so high, not stability? Probably the front bulb has a yaw destablizing effect also, increasing the vertical tail size.

Are the engine nacelles normal size? They seem quite big to me although size is difficult to judge. The gear takes some space though. I was just wondering if there are any extra turbochargers there as that's really a requirement to increase altitude capability. AFAIK the Rotax 914 has a fairly basic turbocharger that doesn't let you go very high.
 
Rustom-H previously called Rustom-2 will soon take to the skies.


http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/sauravjha/2976/65064/a-new-year-for-drdo.html
 

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Rustom-2 video depicting engine ground runs and low speed taxi trials


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUhcfBIGF8U&feature=youtu.be
 

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