India’s National Aerospace Laboratories conducts HAPS flight tests

The CSIR-NAL HAPS subscale model can stay airborne for 24 hours. (CSIR-NAL)

India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) has carried out a series of flight tests on a subscale model of its high-altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS) platform.

The tests were conducted at the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) at Challakere, Karnataka, from 23 January to 2 February. During the tests, the subscale model, which has a wingspan of 12 m and a maximum take-off weight of 22 kg, conducted about 22 sorties and accumulated close to 37 flight hours.

Speaking to
Janes,
L Venkatakrishnan, NAL’s chief scientist and high-altitude platform programme director, said, “The aircraft met or exceeded all the performance metrics set out for it including a flight endurance of more than 8 hours 30 minutes, reaching an altitude of almost 3 km above mean sea level.” Venkatakrishnan added that metrics including climb rate, maximum bank angle, turn radius, and one engine inoperative were also assessed in the flight tests.