Indian development of Archer UCAV proceeds
The Archer is an under-development UCAV for India based on the DRDO’s Rustom I. (DRDO)
India persists in developing UCAVs and MALE UAVs, but the going is not easy.
Flight testing is to proceed for the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) short-range, armed UAV called Archer, based on the earlier Rustom-1.
The Archer has a proposed 220km range and 12h endurance, and four more prototypes are to be manufactured by private players.
This testing follows an EoI released to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and half a dozen private companies in mid-2021. Discussions are ongoing, and this will lead to a down-select. The winner will be the lead manufacturer and integrator, but only 20 will be produced in limited series production.
Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 inspires the Archer design,
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