DRDO Nishant

DRDO Nishant
The DRDO Nishant was[4] an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
developed by India's ADE (Aeronautical Development Establishment),
a branch of DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation)
for the Indian Armed Forces. The Nishant UAV is primarily tasked
with intelligence gathering over enemy territory and also for
reconnaissance, training, surveillance, target designation, artillery fire
correction, damage assessment, ELINT and SIGINT. The UAV has an
endurance of four hours and thirty minutes. Nishant has completed
development phase and user trials.

The 380 kg (840 lb) Nishant UAV requires rail-launching from a

hydro-pneumatic launcher and is able to be recovered by a parachute
system. Launches at a velocity of 45 m/s are carried out in 0.6 second Nishant UAV on its launcher
with 100 kW power and subsequent launches can be carried out in
Role Military UAV
intervals of 20 minutes. The Mobile Hydro-Pneumatic Launcher
(MHPL) system mounted on a Tatra truck weighs 14,000 kg
Manufacturer ADE, DRDO
(31,000 lb) and boasts of a life cycle of 1000 launches before requiring Designer ADE, DRDO
overhaul. Nishant is one of the few UAVs in the world in its weight- First flight August 1996[1]
class capable of being catapult-launched and recovered by using
Status Development[2]
parachute, thus eliminating the need for a runway as in case of
Primary user Indian Army
conventional take-off and landing with wheels.
Number built 4[2]
Unit cost $4.47million[3]

Contents
Development
Test flight with Wankel engine
Features
Ground support systems
Former operators
Specifications
Variants
Launch & recovery
See also
References

Development
To meet the Army’s operational requirement of a RPV (remotely piloted vehicle), it was decided in September 1988 that the Defence
Research and Development Organisation would undertake the indigenous development of the UAV. The General Staff Qualitative
Requirement (GSQR) was finalised by the Army in May 1990. The Nishant RPV made its first test flight in 1995. In July 1999, for
the first time the Indian army deployed its new Nishant UAV system in the fight against guerilla forces backed by Pakistan in
Kashmir. Nishant, which had been developed forbattlefield surveillance and reconnaissance needs of the Indian Army
, was test flown
again in early 2002. The indigenous Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Nishant developed by ADE, DRDO had completed its 100th
flight by June 15, 2002.[5] The Indian Army has placed an order for 12 Nishant UAVs along with ground support systems.[6] Nishant
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) developed by DRDO for Indian Army was successfully flight tested near Kolar on 20 June 2008.
Nishant has completed development phase and user trials. The present flight tests are pre confirmatory trials before induction into
services.[7]

Test flight with Wankel engine

On Sunday, 5 April 2009 DRDO launched a test flight of the Nishant UAV. The main goal was to test the performance of the Wankel
engine used on the UAV. An abandoned World War II runway at a village near Kolar played host to the first ever flight of this
indigenous rotary engine-powered UAV. The flight took off on early Sunday morning and climbed to an altitude of 1.8 km (5,900 ft)
before cruising for a duration of 35 minutes. The air vehicle was recovered safely at the intended place at a dried-up lake, after a total
flight duration of 40 min. The engine, a Wankel rotary type, was the developmental project of the DRDO and was jointly designed
and developed by NAL, a CSIR laboratory, VRDE, Ahmednagar and ADE, Bangalore. The provisional flight clearance for the first
indigenous prototype engine was given by the certifying agency, the Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification.
The engine was cleared for flight after rigorous ground endurance test runs. The Wankel engine weighs about 30 kg (70 lb), and this
engine type is known for its high power-to-weight ratio in a single rotor category.

DRDO was satisfied with the test results. The performance of the engine during the flight met the requirements of the first flight of an
engine in the air vehicle. This 55 hp indigenous engine is expected to replace the present imported engine of Nishant. The critical
core engine, including the special cylinder composite nickel–silicon carbide coating and special aluminium alloy castings, was
designed and developed by NAL. VRDE developed engine peripherals such as the ignition and fuel systems and ADE developed
flight testing. The reconnaissance UAV, which has completed its user trials with the Indian Army, is expected to be handed over to
the army shortly.

Nishant UAV again underwent crucial confirmatory user trials at Pokhran in April 2010. The trials began April 20 and were supposed
to last for one week. A senior Army official at Pokhran said the trials are moving forward in a very satisfactory manner. “We are
checking three crucial parameters: video quality, tracking ability and fall of gunshot [missed distance after firing]. These input
performances are critical to our operations in the forward areas,” the official said. DRDO has delivered the first four UAVs to the
Indian Army at a cost of 800 million₹ ($17.9 million).[8]

According to The Times Of India, two UAVs crash-landed in Jaisalmer district near the India-Pakistan border due to change in wind
direction on April 28 and April 30. Confirming the news, a DRDO official said, "The user trials were going on and during the flight
there were some technical snags owing to which the craft was landed using parachutes." He said, "But the landing was done safely
and no one was hurt in the process. Though before our officials could reach to get the craft back, villagers damaged the aircraft and
took away some equipment."[9]

On 3 February 2011 Nishant UAV successfully completed confirmatory trials conducted by the Indian Army at Pokhran,
Rajasthan[10]

A wheeled version of the Nishant UAV, named panchi, is under taxi trail as of September 2014, will be flight tested soon. UAV is
capable of operating from semi-prepared runway, thereby reducing the turnaround time between missions, which is major advantage
over the current catapult launched nishant[11]

Features
Day/night capability training vehicle
Battlefield reconnaissance & surveillance,
Target tracking and localization
Artillery fire correction
All terrain mobility
Target designation (using integral laser target designator)
 Endurance: 4 h 30 min

Ground support systems

Mobile hydropneumatic launcher (MHPL)
Ground control station (GCS)
Antenna vehicle/Ground Data Terminal(GDT)
Avionics preparation vehicle(APV)
Mechanical maintenance vehicle
UAV transportation vehicle
Power supply vehicle

Former operators
Indian Army - 4 (all lost) [12]

Specifications
Data from Rediff[13] , Jane's Defence Weekly[14] and Aviation Week[15]

General characteristics

Crew: None
Payload: 45 kg (99 lb) electro-optical, infrared or laser sensors
Length: 4.6 m (15 ft)
Wingspan: 6.5 m (21 ft)
Height: ()
Loaded weight: 350–380 kg (772–838 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × ALVIS AR-801, 55 bhp (41 kW)
Performance

Maximum speed: 216 km/h (134 mi/h)

Range: 100 km (62 mi)
Endurance: 4–5 hours
Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (3,962 m)

Variants
Nishant catapult
Panchi (Nishant Wheeled version)[11]

Launch & recovery

Launch: Mobile hydropneumatic launcher (MHPL) system
Recovery: Parachute + landing bags

See also
DRDO Lakshya
DRDO Rustom
DRDO AURA
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
 SAGEM Sperwer
RQ-15 Neptune
SAGEM Crecerelle
Chung Shyang II UAV

References
1. "Directory: unmanned air vehicles"(https://www.flightglobal.com/assets/getasset.aspx?itemid=9141). Flight
International. Reed Business Information. 21–27 June 2005. p. 54.
2. "DRDO claims Nishant programme still alive after crash"(https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/drdo-claims-nish
ant-programme-still-alive-after-cras-422460/). 26 February 2016.
3. Aerospace Defense Business & Commercial A viation News, Blogs, Videos and Photos by Aviation Week (http://ww
w.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?topicName=india)
4. "Indigenously developed UAV of army crashes near Pokhran" (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/in
digenously-developed-uav-of-army-crashes-near-pokhran/articleshow/49849121.cms) .
economictimes.indiatimes.com. 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
5. "Unmanned air vehicle Nishant completes 100 flights"(https://web.archive.org/web/20110927110257/http://news.indi
ainfo.com/2005/06/15/1506nishant-uav.html). News.indiainfo.com. 2005-06-15. Archived fromthe original (http://new
s.indiainfo.com/2005/06/15/1506nishant-uav
.html) on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
6. "DRDO Working On Large UAVs; Army Orders 12 Nishant UAVs" (http://www.india-defence.com/reports-3119).
India-defence.com. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
7. Successful Flight Tests of Nishant UAV (http://www.drdo.org/dpi/nishant/index.htm)Archived (https://web.archive.org/
web/20080625040628/http://www.drdo.org/dpi/nishant/index.htm) June 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
8. "Nishant undergoes trial"(https://web.archive.org/web/20110608193957/http://www
.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/new
srf.php?newsid=12792). Bharat-rakshak.com. 2010-04-22. Archived fromthe original (http://www.bharat-rakshak.co
m/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=12792)on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
9. "UAVs 'crash-landed' in Jaisalmer village"(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-05-08/jaipur/28307909_1
_crash-landing-unmanned-aerial-vehicles-minor-technical-snag) . The Times of India. 2010-05-08. Retrieved
2012-01-28.
10. Mathews, Neelam (4 February 2011)."Indian Army Approves Nishant UAV" (http://aviationweek.com/awin/indian-ar
my-approves-nishant-uav). Aerospace Daily & Defense Report. Aviation Week.
11. "UAV Panchi Warms Up for Maiden Flight"(http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/UAV-Panchi-Warms-
Up-for-Maiden-Flight/2014/09/18/article2437216.ece)
. The New Indian Express.
12. "Homegrown Nishant Drone's Perfect Crash Record"(https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nishant-unmanned-aerial-ve
hicle-of-indian-army-crashes-in-pokhran-1245328)
. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
13. "Indian Army to try out DRDO's spy plane"(http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jun/06army.htm). Rediff.com. Press
Trust of India. 6 June 2008.
14. Bedi, Rahul (17 February 1999). "India set to put Nishant UA
V to the real test". Jane's Defence Weekly. Jane's
Information Group. 31 (7).
15. "In-Production and Under-Development Unmanned Aircraft"(http://awin.aviationweek.com/Portals/awin/PDFs/aeros
pace2013_PDFs/uav_drone.pdf)(PDF). Aviation Week. Retrieved 1 June 2018.

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