Explained: How indigenous drone Tapas can prove to be a deadly weapon, why it is necessary for Indian Navy

A team of Indian Navy and DRDO on 16 June 2023 successfully demonstrated the command and control capabilities of TAPAS UAV, the first indigenous unmanned drone made in India.

This demonstration was done at a ground station 148 km away from the Karwar Naval Base, where the drone managed to fly up to a height of 20,000 feet. Now this indigenous drone can be used for monitoring the borders as well as for attacking enemies.

The making of this drone was started from the year 2016 itself. However, it has not yet been included in the Indian Army. It is believed that after this flight, he will soon join the Indian Army.

Tapas BH 201 drone is an attacking drone, which can take off with a weight of about 350 kg. The length of this drone is 9.5 meters and the width of its wings is 20.6 meters.

The weight of Tapas drone is 1800 kg and two NPO Saturn 36T turboprop engines have been installed on its wings. Both these engines can give power of 200 horse power.

Learn about India’s first indigenous drone…

• The full name of Tapas drone is Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance Beyond Horizon.
• This drone has been made by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
• The indigenous drone Tapas was successfully demonstrated by the Indian Navy team on 16 June 2023.
• Tapas was flown at 07.35 am from Karwar military base to the Aeronautical Test Range Chitradurga, 285 km away.
• The objective of the demonstration was to see the command and control capabilities of the Tapas UAV.

Why is this important for the Indian Navy?

Talking about the merits of the first indigenous drone Tapas, the drone can fly for more than 18 hours at an altitude of 28 thousand feet. It is a Medium Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) drone, similar to the US MQ-1 Predator drone.

This drone has been designed to carry out intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance missions for the Indian Armed Forces. During its mission, this drone is capable of identifying its small targets and killing them.

Tapas is a drone with the ability to take off and land on its own. This drone was earlier called as Rustom-2. Whose maximum speed was 224 kilometers per hour. The Tapas drone with a wing span of 20.6 meters can fly continuously for 1000 kms. Tapas drone can be used for surveillance both day and night.

Which engine is used in this drone

Indigenous engine made by Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE) has been used in India’s first indigenous drone i.e. Tapas. This engine gives the drone a power of 130 kilowatts or 180 horsepower.

What are the features of America’s MQ-1 Predator drone?

• America’s MQ-1 Predator drone can monitor the sea for a long time.
• If needed, the missiles fitted in this drone can also attack enemy bases and ships.
• The MQ-1 Predator drone has all the features of a turbofan engine and stealth aircraft.
• This drone can fly 1800 miles (2,900 kilometers) after taking off from its base.
• This drone is capable of flying for 35 hours at an altitude of 50 thousand feet.
• Apart from this, this drone can fly with a payload of 6500 pounds.

Why India needs Predator drones

At present, the biggest threat to India is from China only. India’s neighboring country China has Wing Long-2 drone, which can not only do Reiki but also attack. This is the reason why the Indian Navy is in urgent need of Predator to the American drone. If reports are to be believed then during PM Modi’s US tour, there may be an agreement on buying MQ-1 Predator drone.

How powerful is Wing Long-2 drone

• The Wing Long-2 drone is an updated version of the Wing Long 1 unmanned drone.
• This drone has been made by Chengdu Aircraft Industry (Group) Company.
• Wing Loong 2 drone can stay in the sky for a long time.
• This drone can fly with a weight of up to 1100 kg.
• Wing long drone can carry up to 200 kg of additional weight i.e. explosives.

Now know about the longest range drone in the world

Shaheed-136 Drone: This drone came in for a lot of discussion during the war between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine had alleged that Russia was using Iranian-made Shahid-136 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to attack targets inside Ukrainian territory.

Shaheed-136 UAV is also known as ‘Kamikaze’ drone. The cost of this one drone is 20 thousand dollars. This drone is 11 feet long and weighs 200 kg and can fly with a weight of about 40 kg.

How dangerous this drone is can also be gauged from the fact that as soon as the target is found, the drone reaches close to its target and targets its target with its full potential. Apart from this, the target of Iranian drone Shahid-136 is accurate, that is, this drone never deviates from its target.