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TUMAKURU: An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) named Tapas crashed on agricultural fields at Vaddikere village in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district on Sunday due to a technical snag. There were no casualties.
The UAV fell on the land of farmer Siddappa PS, about 40km from the DRDO facility at Kudapura in Challakere taluk in the district from where it was flown. A wing of the UAV fell on the neighbouring plot of another farmer, Siddappa T.
“Tapas UAV was undergoing an experimental flight trial on Sunday morning from ATR (aeronautical test range), Challakere. During the flight, a technical snag was encountered and the UAV crashed on a nearby farmland. The technical reason is being investigated… there is no collateral damage,” DRDO said in a statement.
Tapas – an acronym for tactical aerial platform for advanced surveillance – is a beyond-horizon UAV in the medium-altitude long-endurance class developed by DRDO. With a length of 9.5 meters and a wingspan of 20.6 meters, Tapas is a multi-mission UAV that can perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance roles for the armed forces. It has an endurance of 24-30 hours and a range of more than 250 km. It is enabled to carry a variety of payloads up to a maximum of 350 kgs and its mission requirements are to provide continuous wide area coverage and yet be able to identify small targets.
Chitradurga SP Parashurama K said no one was injured in the crash as farmers were not at work at the time.
The UAV fell on the land of farmer Siddappa PS, about 40km from the DRDO facility at Kudapura in Challakere taluk in the district from where it was flown. A wing of the UAV fell on the neighbouring plot of another farmer, Siddappa T.
“Tapas UAV was undergoing an experimental flight trial on Sunday morning from ATR (aeronautical test range), Challakere. During the flight, a technical snag was encountered and the UAV crashed on a nearby farmland. The technical reason is being investigated… there is no collateral damage,” DRDO said in a statement.
Tapas – an acronym for tactical aerial platform for advanced surveillance – is a beyond-horizon UAV in the medium-altitude long-endurance class developed by DRDO. With a length of 9.5 meters and a wingspan of 20.6 meters, Tapas is a multi-mission UAV that can perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance roles for the armed forces. It has an endurance of 24-30 hours and a range of more than 250 km. It is enabled to carry a variety of payloads up to a maximum of 350 kgs and its mission requirements are to provide continuous wide area coverage and yet be able to identify small targets.
Chitradurga SP Parashurama K said no one was injured in the crash as farmers were not at work at the time.
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