At a world war II abandoned runway in a small village called Veerapura, 8 Kms from Kolar, DRDO conducted first ever flight of an indigenous engine powering Nishant Unmanned Air Vehicle. The engine, a wankel Rotary type was a project originated from VRDE, Ahmednagar, and jointly designed and developed by NAL, a CSIR lab, VRDE, Ahmednagar and ADE, Bangalore.

The flight took off at 1157 hrs in the morning of 31 Mar and climbed to an altitude of 1.8 Kms effortlessly before cruising for a duration of 35 mts. The air vehicle was recovered safely at the intended place in dried up Muduvadi lake after a total flight duration of 40 mts. The event was witnessed by key personnel Shri PS Krishnan, Director ADE, Dr CL Dhamejani,Director VRDE and DR. AR Upadhya, Director NAL, Regional Director RCMA and Regional Director,AQA and other senior officers.

The Wankel engine is first of its kind totally designed and developed in the country. The provisional flight clearance for the first indigenous prototype engine was given by the certifying agency, RCMA in a short ceremony held at the launch pad. The engine was cleared for flight after a rigorous ground and endurance test run.

The engine weighs about 30 Kgs, and is known for its high power to Weight ratio in single rotor category. The engine performed very well in flight meeting all the requirements of the Air Vehicle. This indigenous engine is expected to replace the present imported engine of Nishant. The engine has a power of 55 hp and can also be used for powering smaller air vehicles, automotive, Out Board Motors, and Industrial applications.

It is planned to use this developed technology for future application for the UAV’s under development in ADE, Bangalore.

NISHANT is a reconnaissance UAV which has completed its user trials with Indian Army. DRDO release says that it is on the verge of handing over few of these air vehicles to Indian Army very shortly.