Successful flight tests were conducted by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) on Tuesday, September 22, 2020. The test was conducted for the High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) – ABHYAS, from IT Balasore. It is an indigenously manufactured and designed drone.

Two demonstrator vehicles were flown successfully during the interim-test range trials – said DRDO in a statement. These vehicles shall be used as a target for various missile systems, and if needed, can be used as a decoy aircraft.

The test has been recorded and monitored by various electro-optic systems and radars. ABHYAS is manufactured and designed in a way as to simulate aircraft for endoatmospheric surface-to-air establishment tests along with the capability of performing air-to-air exercises.

Rajnath Singh- the Defense Minister of India appraised this successful trial in a tweet on Tuesday – “The DRDO achieved a milestone today with the successful flight test of ABHYAS – High-Speed Expandable Aerial Target from ITR Balasore. This can be used as a target for evaluation of various Missile systems.”
He applauded the hard work of DRDO as well as other stakeholders involved in this project.

The first such successful test was conducted in May 2019 and this is the second time that a target vehicle has been flight-tested successfully.

ABHYAS was able to clear all the parameters that had been evaluated previously. These parameters included the 5 Km flying altitude, 2G turn capability, vehicle speed of 0.5 Mach, and an endurance of 30 minutes. For guidance and control of the flight, it will be using a flight-control computer, DRDO mentioned in its statement.

The design and development of this vehicle has been done by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of DRDO.
Apart from this, ABHYAS has the capability of a fully autonomous flight running on a gas turbine engine. An interesting fact about this vehicle is that its inertial navigation system is based upon the Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS).

Other features of this vehicle include an adjustable simulated radar cross-section meant for live-fire exercises; a lens inserted in the nose cone of the flight to enhance the radar reflectiveness of the target.