Hindustan Aeronautics Limited successfully demonstrated flight of a 10 kg rotary wing (Helicopter) unmanned aerial vehicle (RUAV) recently.

The RUAV is capable of carrying payload of 2.5 kg and it comes with live stream video camera. The range of the RUAV is 8-10 km with an endurance of one hour.

The flight lasted for about ten minutes during which attitude control attitude hold mode, position control, position hold mode, low speed flight in forward, backward and sideward directions were demonstrated by HAL team. The video feed from onboard the helicopter was streamed live.

To become self-dependent in aviation sector and enhance its R&D efforts, HAL is working closely with premier educational institutes and has established chairs at IITs (Madras, Roorkee, Kharagpur, Bombay, Kanpur) and IISc Bengaluru. The RUAV is developed jointly with IIT Kanpur and is the first outcome of HAL’s tie-ups with academia.

With this demo, HAL’s Rotary Wing R&D Centre (RWR&DC) is well poised to employ its skills and capabilities to develop rotary UAVs of higher weight classes and weapons as payloads. CMD, HAL T Suvarna Raju says that the success is the testimony of the industry-academia collaboration.

The RWR&DC at HAL is involved in design and development of rotary wing platforms (helicopters) military and civil operations.