Tejas Drops Bomb At New DRDO Test Range

(Avaition Week)  : India’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft successfully dropped the first bomb at the Defense Research and Development Organization’s (DRDO) new test range at Challakere, 100 mi. northwest of Bengaluru, on Dec. 15. With this test, the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) of DRDO has become operational and will be henceforth used by various aeronautical system developers in India. DRDO’s Chief Controller, Dr. Prahlada, tells Aviation Week that the ATR will be a boost to various ongoing and future aeronautical projects. “With today’s test we have started the ball rolling and it is a significant step for India,” Prahlada says. “We will use the facility for testing various UAV platforms. Now, we have the option of using the Kolar range [near Bangalore] and the ATR.” With the Dec. 15 air-to-ground-trials, Tejas is fast-approaching the Dec. 27 deadline for its initial operational clearance. The Tejas PV-2 aircraft was piloted by Group Capt. (ret.) R.R. Tyagi from the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC). “He dropped practice bombs on the target and we became the first to use the ATR,” says, P.S. Subramanyam, Aeronautical Development Agency program director. “We had created an air-to-ground target and range safety officer bunkers at the range site. We have a crucial meeting with the Indian air force, next week.” In a 10-min. flight, PV-2 took off from the Old Bangalore Airport, completed its mission at ATR and returned. A NFTC mobile telemetry station and critical system monitoring personnel also were positioned at the test range. “The mobile telemetry was linked to the base station Bangalore, through a [Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.-provided] fiber-optic link to monitor the test aircraft data and video in real-time,” DRDO says. “Availability of the range at a reasonable distance from Bangalore is expected to have a beneficial effect on clearance to the air-to-ground weapon, integrated with various sensors onboard Tejas.” Tejas bomb photo: DRDO