• A Tapas unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) crashed in agriculture fields near a village in Karnataka’s Chitradurga.

ABOUT TAPAS

• Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance-Beyond Horizon-201 or Tapas BH-201 is a long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle.
  • It was previously referred to as Rustom-II.
• The drone has a 20.6-meter wingspan and a maximum speed of 225 kmph.
• It can cover a range of 250+ km using the C Band frequency data link developed by Defence Electronics Application Laboratory (DEAL) at DRDO, and 1000+ km via SATCOM using the Kᵤ Band frequency and GAGAN system.
• TAPAS BH 201 is being developed in India by Aeronautical Development Establishment.
• The medium-altitude, long-endurance drone has an impressive flight endurance of several hours and successfully completed its maiden flight in November 2016.
• The TAPAS BH 201 drone has the capability to fly autonomously or via remote control, allowing for pre-programmed flight plans and operational use in daylight or darkness.
• It is easily transportable and deployable to remote locations
• With a range of over 18 hours and altitude capabilities of up to 28,000 feet, the TAPAS BH 201 has already completed more than 180 flights and will be live-streaming aerial and static displays at Aero India 2023.