The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully carried out the flight test of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) ‘Rustom 2’ – named after former professor of Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, Rustom Damania – on 25th February, 2018, in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district. Also known as ‘TAPAS-BH-201’, Rustom 2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance UCAV which has been designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of the DRDO and is often compared with predator drones of the United States. All three variants of this UCAV which have been developed so far – Rustom 1, Rustom H and Rustom 2 – have been named after Rustom Damania.

The DRDO decided to name the UCAV after Rustom as its concept came from National Aerospace Laboratories’ (NAL) Light Canard Research Aircraft (LCRA), which was developed under Damania’s leadership in the 1980s. The Rs. 1,500/- Crore project produced by aerospace majors, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Limited, are designed to carry out surveillance as well as reconnaissance roles for the Indian armed forces, with 24 hours endurance. Rustom 2 is capable of flying various combinations of payloads which include synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence systems and situational awareness systems. A statement issued by DRDO stated, “DRDO successfully flew its Rustom 2 at its Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) at Chalakere at Chitradurga. This flight assumes significance due to the fact that this is the first flight in user configuration with higher power engine.”