TAPAS Drone: Indian Navy shows foresight by taking UAV to operational level

 

TAPAS Drone: Indian Navy shows exemplary foresight by taking DRDO UAV to operational level

The Indian Navy's decision to acquire four Tapas drones despite performance deficiencies shows admirable foresight and commitment.

ANI reported on June 22 that the Indian Navy plans to use the DRDO-developed drones for monitoring maritime areas. "The Indian Navy has ordered four Tapas drones, which will be used for maritime surveillance activities," a defence official told ANI.

A consortium of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will manufacture the drones.

"The consortium will expedite delivery as the first bird will be ready for delivery within 24 months of contract award." Existing birds and drones will be used to conduct experiments and improve their capabilities,” they added.

TAPAS: Development History The

TAPAS (Tactical Airborne Platform for Surveillance - Beyond Horizon 201 (Tapas-BH 201)) project was approved as a mission project in February 2011 with an original deadline of August 2016. The deadline was extended several times, first due to project management issues inherent in new aviation projects, and later due to significant performance deficiencies. The performance of the

drone fell below the Joint Service Qualitative Requirements (JQSR) benchmarks in terms of payload, operational ceiling, and endurance. The

drone weighs 2,800 kg instead of 1,800 kg, has an operational altitude of 27,000 feet instead of 30,000 feet, and has an endurance of 18 hours instead of 14 hours.

In January, Time of India reported that India did not fund the TAPAS project as it was not JSQR compliant. It was up to the DRDO management to go ahead with the project.

Reasons for revival

In general, the Navy has provided DRDO with additional resources and time to improve TAPAS. The additional funding is likely to come from the Navy budget. Sources told ANI that the Navy expects DRDO to improve the drone's performance. In the short term, TAPAS definitely has room to improve its performance.

For example, using composite materials will improve the drone's performance. The best part is, this is easy to do.

Adani Aerospace says the indigenous Drishti-10 is a clone of Elbit Hermes-900, a drone made from composite materials. One of the main reasons for the sudden increase in TAPAS's weight from 1800 kg to 2800 kg is DRDO's inability to manufacture composite fuel tanks. They were forced to use metal fuel tanks instead, which increased the weight considerably.

Assuming Adani Aerospace has the "in-house" capability to manufacture composite fuel tanks, TAPAS could get back in the game and climb to 30,000 feet.

There is also scope to improve the drone's performance by using a suitable turboprop engine instead of a diesel engine. It is unclear why DRDO switched to diesel engines when they initially wanted to use turboprop engines.

Assuming it was diesel because suitable turboprop engines were not available, the lifeline given by the Navy to the project DRDO could help solve the problem by working with a foreign turboprop manufacturer.

The Indian Navy made a wise move by reviving the TAPAS project with a contract roughly equivalent to a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract.

By relying on indigenous technology and the DRDO, the Navy is ensuring it remains self-sufficient and strong in the future.

It is possible that the Indian Army and Air Force could follow the Indian Navy's example and fund the development of technologies they consider critical to India's needs.