India conducts successful flight test of ABHYAS from Odisha test range

India on Tuesday successfully conducted the flight test of ABHYAS - High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) - from a test range in Odisha, defence sources said. "The vehicle can be used as a target for evaluation of various missile systems," a defence statement said. "It proved its performance in a fully autonomous waypoint navigation mode," a source said.

India on Tuesday successfully conducted the flight test of ABHYAS - High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) - from a test range in Odisha, defence sources said. The trial, carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here, was tracked by various radars and electro-optic systems, the sources said.

During the trials, two demonstrator vehicles were successfully test flown, DRDO sources said. "The vehicle can be used as a target for evaluation of various missile systems," a defence statement said. ABHYAS has been designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of the DRDO.

The air vehicle is launched using twin underslung boosters. It is powered by a small gas turbine engine and has an Inertial Navigation System (INS) along with a Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control. The vehicle has been programmed for fully autonomous flight. The check out of the air vehicle is done using laptop-based Ground Control Station (GCS).

During the test campaign, the user requirement of 5 km flying altitude, vehicle speed of 0.5 mach, endurance of 30 minutes and 2g turn capability of the test vehicle were successfully achieved, the statement said. "It proved its performance in a fully autonomous waypoint navigation mode," a source said.

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