India on Friday successfully carried out the first flight of an autonomous technology demonstrator.
The aircraft, launched by Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Establishment under the purview of the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation, is a scaled-down version of the upcoming Ghatak combat drone. The flight took place at the aeronautical test range based at Chitradurga in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
The airframe, undercarriage, and entire flight control and avionics systems used for the aircraft were domestically developed, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called the flight a major achievement toward autonomous aircraft that will pave the way for Aatmanirbhar Bharat — an economic initiative meant to make India less dependent on foreign technology — in terms of critical military systems.