DRDO AURA

DRDO AURA STORY

'AURA' is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UCAV) currently being developed by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and may be procured by the Indian Air Force (IAF). The design is a full-wing concept, similar to Boeing's "Phantom Ray" UCAV, with a well-defined triangular front, swept wings, serrated trailing edge, and a centralized engine arrangement spanned by an internal weapons bay.

As an armed drone (hence the name "combat"), the AURA is expected to carry a pair of laser-guided bombs or the like (depending on the mission range). The DRDO AURA program is in a very early stage of development and some aspects of the program are still being worked out. The first flight is expected to take place sometime in 2015, with an operational launch scheduled for 2020. AURA emerged primarily due to a lack of interest in UCAV global suppliers willing to sell existing systems to the IAF.

And so, a homegrown effort was born.

AURA will use a number of domestically designed and manufactured components, making India's booming aerospace industry increasingly independent of suppliers from Europe, Russia and the US. The drone will follow other similar products in its class and will provide fully autonomous missions via a data link package, allowing actual control from a ground station if necessary. DRDO engineers explained that the AURA will operate at altitudes of up to 30,000 feet, and its internal weapons bay could be of the orbital launch type -- capable of firing missiles, laser-guided munitions or conventionally dropped bombs.

The native route taken by Native Americans in this initiative is noteworthy because much of the technology employed is essentially new to the local aviation industry. Nonetheless, the government and relevant players remain very optimistic about the eventual achievement of the stated project goals.

In any case, the halo became a huge symbol of national pride in a country of 1.2 billion people.

The first prototype is not expected to be ready until 2015. Recently released computer drawings showing a very elegant design will be released soon. The cutaway shows a top-mounted air intake that draws air into the fuselage-mounted turbofan engine, which then exits the engine through horizontal louvers in the stern to reduce radar signature.

The aircraft will also be coated with a special radar absorbing material being developed in India. DRDO may also eventually work with defense forces in Europe to advance the development framework and bring Aura online as quickly as possible and reduce kinks due to the lower learning curve.

However, at this early stage, only the plane shape of the fuselage is close to its final shape.

At the time of this writing (2012), the name AURA is the project name and may change during the life of the project. The entry into service could coincide with India's first 5th generation fighter jet, which would be a powerful double whammy.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Performance

Armor

Changes