On June 16, 2023, the Indian Navy and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully demonstrated the transmission of TAPAS UAV command and control capabilities from a remote ground station to onboard INS Subhadra, which was located 148 kilometres away from the Karwar naval base.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) circled at 6,000 metres (ASML). The INS Subhadra was in charge of UAV operations for 40 minutes while on its 3.30-hour journey.
Chitradurga’s Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), located 285 kilometres from the naval base at Karwar, was where TAPAS took off at 7:35 in the morning. Onboard, the INS Subhadra installed one Ground Control Station (GCS) and two Ship Data Terminals (SDT) to command the UAV. Following the conclusion of the trial, TAPAS went back to ATR.
Tapas-BH (Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance-Beyond Horizon 201) was formerly known as Rustom-II. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was initially named after Rustom Damania, a former professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru. It was designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) in Bengaluru, with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited serving as production partners.
It is designed to perform surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions and can transport various advanced payloads and auto-landing, among other capabilities. It is designed to acquire real-time, high-resolution images and signal intelligence from medium- to long-range threat zones. It is technologically equivalent to current UAVs and less expensive than imported ones.
The Indian Navy’s INS Subhadra (P51) is a Sukanya-class patrol vessel. The INS Subhadra served as a test facility for the ship-launched ballistic missile Dhanush and its associated stabilisation and launch platform.
