I think optimistically could be 2-4 years before amca mk1 goes into production.
But generally around the same time.
Ghatak and Rustom Indigenous UAV Programs
- Thread starter Ashwin
- Start date
But generally around the same time.
Prototype "expected" in 2029... brilliant.
Service induction in 2040 for 5 units maybe.
Service induction in 2040 for 5 units maybe.
Yeah does seem obvious but just confirming lol. How stealthy do you guys think it will be tho? Flying wing design, do you think it can be stealthiler than F-35?
Well if our RAS and RAM material tech is not shit by modern standards then it definitely should be stealthier than f35, lot stealthier in a broader spectrum too, also should have lower IR signature.
Once Ghatak becomes operational, we would increase its size and range in the future versions and it'll serve as a precursor towards our own indigenous flying wing stealth bomber.
Also important is datalink and comms with Ghatak, capability of its INS and high accuracy IMU systems to perform in contested environments where spoofing and jamming is a concern. How much progress have we made in those fronts?
We have made great strides in this front too. Honestly, without secure directional data-links both stealth and MUM-T are simply compromised. So from UHF/VHF to Ku band SATCOM with all new waveforms are upcoming
DRDO's Ghatak combat drone programme gathers pace; 60 units planned
India’s indigenous stealth flying-wing combat drone programme received a boost on Tuesday, with the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) Defence Procurement Board (DPB) recommending that the proposal to procure 60 Ghatak unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), currently under development by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the armed forces, be taken forward, a defence source told Business Standard.
Ghatak is a stealth-capable UCAV based on a flying-wing configuration. It is designed for a low radar cross-section and internal weapon carriage. Once operational, Ghatak could undertake deep-strike missions, penetrating heavily defended airspace to hit high-value targets without placing pilots at risk.
Operating autonomously or alongside manned aircraft, it could also be tasked with suppressing or destroying enemy air defences — including radar stations and missile systems — and striking strategic infrastructure with precision-guided munitions.
In November, while disclosing that the Indian Air Force (IAF) had drawn up a technology and capability roadmap titled ‘Vision 2047’, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said unmanned systems were not expected to fully replace manned fighter jets in the foreseeable future. However, he emphasised that the IAF was fully backing the Ghatak UCAV programme.
“There are certain areas where you don’t want to risk human life, where unmanned systems are necessary — places where they can operate ahead of your manned systems. So, work is underway in that direction, and a number of research and development projects are ongoing,” he had said, adding, “The UCAV programme is already on, and we are fully supporting it. We understand it has to be part of our overall force structure. The Vision 2047 document also talks about it.”
On December 15, 2023, DRDO successfully conducted a flight trial of the “Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator”, described in an official release as an indigenous high-speed flying-wing UAV. The demonstrator is understood to be a precursor to the Ghatak UCAV.
The trial, carried out in a tailless configuration at the Aeronautical Test Range in Karnataka’s Chitradurga, was described in the same release as marking India’s entry into an “elite club of countries to have mastered the controls for the flying wing technology”.
The UAV, designed and developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment, also demonstrated autonomous landing without the need for ground radars, infrastructure or pilot intervention, enabling take-off and landing from any runway with surveyed coordinates.
The UAV’s maiden flight took place in July 2022.
The prototype is made of indigenously developed lightweight carbon composite material, with the structure impregnated with sensors for health monitoring
India’s indigenous stealth flying-wing combat drone programme received a boost on Tuesday, with the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) Defence Procurement Board (DPB) recommending that the proposal to procure 60 Ghatak unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), currently under development by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the armed forces, be taken forward, a defence source told Business Standard.
Ghatak is a stealth-capable UCAV based on a flying-wing configuration. It is designed for a low radar cross-section and internal weapon carriage. Once operational, Ghatak could undertake deep-strike missions, penetrating heavily defended airspace to hit high-value targets without placing pilots at risk.
Operating autonomously or alongside manned aircraft, it could also be tasked with suppressing or destroying enemy air defences — including radar stations and missile systems — and striking strategic infrastructure with precision-guided munitions.
In November, while disclosing that the Indian Air Force (IAF) had drawn up a technology and capability roadmap titled ‘Vision 2047’, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said unmanned systems were not expected to fully replace manned fighter jets in the foreseeable future. However, he emphasised that the IAF was fully backing the Ghatak UCAV programme.
“There are certain areas where you don’t want to risk human life, where unmanned systems are necessary — places where they can operate ahead of your manned systems. So, work is underway in that direction, and a number of research and development projects are ongoing,” he had said, adding, “The UCAV programme is already on, and we are fully supporting it. We understand it has to be part of our overall force structure. The Vision 2047 document also talks about it.”
On December 15, 2023, DRDO successfully conducted a flight trial of the “Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator”, described in an official release as an indigenous high-speed flying-wing UAV. The demonstrator is understood to be a precursor to the Ghatak UCAV.
The trial, carried out in a tailless configuration at the Aeronautical Test Range in Karnataka’s Chitradurga, was described in the same release as marking India’s entry into an “elite club of countries to have mastered the controls for the flying wing technology”.
The UAV, designed and developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment, also demonstrated autonomous landing without the need for ground radars, infrastructure or pilot intervention, enabling take-off and landing from any runway with surveyed coordinates.
The UAV’s maiden flight took place in July 2022.
The prototype is made of indigenously developed lightweight carbon composite material, with the structure impregnated with sensors for health monitoring
Agree, This will be an awesome boost for IAF signal intelligence in a contested airspace, and it can do the same for IN with a refueling probe. GHATAK has limitless potential, we should get Indian private sector involved, just like we did with AMCA, and speed up. The goal should be to utilize AI and hybrid decision-making on board, using a satellite data center along with a manual override.
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nice, if we can make L&T as well as TASL our version of boeing and lockheed then it will be wonderfull.
A decade of stories of this and that. Yet they didnt even start it.
