Article Title: TAPAS UAV
13-02-2023
Defence & Internal Security Prelims Plus
Why is in news? PM Shares aerial coverage of Ground and Air display captured from indigenously developed Medium Altitude Long Endurance TAPAS UAV
Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance-Beyond Horizon-201 or TAPAS BH-201is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) being developed in India by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) on the lines of General Atomics MQ-1 Predator.
The first flight of the UAV took place in November 2016.
Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) refers to an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that flies at an altitude window of 10,000 to 30,000 feet for extended durations of time, typically 24 to 48 hours.
It is being developed to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) roles and is capable of carrying different combinations of advanced payload and capable of auto-landing among others.
It is being designed to acquire real-time, high-quality pictures and signal intelligence from fields of concern at medium to long ranges.
It technologically matches contemporary UAVs available and will also be cheaper than the imported ones.
High endurance UAVs are a priority requirement for the armed forces especially in the standoff with China in Eastern Ladakh.
The armed forces rely heavily on the Israeli Searcher and Heron drones and need more such UAVs.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs):
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, are aircraft either controlled by ‘pilots’ from the ground or increasingly, autonomously following a pre-programmed mission.
There are three subsets of Unmanned Aircraft- Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Autonomous Aircraft and Model Aircraft.
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