BENGALURU: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Friday announced that it had carried out a successful flight demonstration of a 10-kg rotary wing (helicopter) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) recently.
The rotary UAV or RUAV, is fuelled by a 2-stroke petrol engine, twin-blade main rotor and tail rotor, payload capability of 2.5 kg, including a live stream video camera and has a range of 8-10 km.
The demonstration is also a payoff for HAL’s efforts to engage with academia to promote self-reliance, the defence PSU said. The RUAV was developed in association with IIT-Kanpur and is the first outcome of HAL’s tie-up with institutions like IITs and IISc, Bengaluru.
The success is a testimony of the industry-academia collaboration, HAL CMD T Suvarna Raju said. The RUAV flight lasted for about 10 minutes during which the aircraft demonstrated various manoeuvres and its hovering and low-speed flight mode.