India conducts successful flight test of ABHYAS from Odisha test range

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful flight test of the ABHYAS High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) on Tuesday.

The trial was conducted from the Interim Test Range, Balasore in Odisha.

During the trials, two demonstrator vehicles were successfully test flown. DRDO says the vehicle can be used as a target for evaluation of various missile systems.

The ABHYAS is designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), DRDO. The air vehicle is launched using twin underslung boosters. It is powered by a small gas turbine engine and has a microelectromechanical system-based Inertial Navigation System for navigation along with the Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control.

The vehicle is said to be programmed for fully autonomous flight.

“The check out of the air vehicle is done using-laptop based Ground Control Station (GCS),” DRDO said in a statement.

The organisation added that “during the test campaign, the user requirement of five km flying altitude, a vehicle speed of Mach 0.5, an endurance of 30 minutes and a 2g turn capability was successfully achieved.”