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Indian defense and aerospace company Flying Wedge unveiled its bomber drone FWD-200B on May 3, and the Bangalore-based company said the drone will meet India's demand for advanced unmanned fighters and strengthen efforts to achieve self-reliance in a segment critical to modern warfare.
Full-size FWD-200B
In 2023, Flying Wedge's homegrown drone technology received DGCA type certification. After unveiling a full-scale model of the drone, Flying Wedge plans to test fly the aircraft in May. The company is working with the Army Design Bureau (ADB), which leads the Indian Army's "Make in India" initiative to seek the possibility of joining the armed forces. Through the Army Design Bureau, Flying Wedge is moving forward with the certification process with the Indian Army. After assessing the flight dynamics and behavior of the aircraft together with the ADB, "probably in the next three months, we should be able to send the aircraft to CEMILAC (Military Airworthiness and Certification Center)," said Tejaskakanda, founder of Flying Wedge. The press conference was also attended by Colonel B Ravi, head of the Army Design Bureau.
Colonel B Ravi, head of the Army Design Bureau
"For 15 years, India's quest for combat drones remains a distant dream, and despite significant investments and several attempts by DRDO, projects such as Tapas and Rustom have failed. Today, with the launch of the FWD-200B, India has not only fulfilled this dream, but has also joined an international coalition with advanced fighter capabilities,"
Flying Wedge Defence and Aerospace创始人Suhas Tejaskanda说，他又补充道
"While the cost of the American Predator reached a staggering Rs 250 crore, our homegrown FWD-200B was manufactured using state-of-the-art technology and manufactured in India, cutting the cost down to just Rs 250 million (about 22 million RMB). This not only demonstrates our commitment to self-reliance, but also positions India as a leader in cost-effective defence solutions,"
The performance is average, and it is embarrassing to reuse
Tejaskanda called it a MALE (medium altitude, long endurance) UAV (medium altitude, long endurance). Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) consist of an optical surveillance payload and are integrated with missile-like weapons for precision air strikes.
However, the drone's parameters on paper are very average, the aircraft is 6 meters long, has a wingspan of 8 meters, a maximum take-off weight of 498 kilograms, and operates at an altitude of 9,000 feet above mean sea level. Due to its fat styling, the drone's maximum speed is only 370 km / h.
Although the endurance is 12-20 hours, the payload is only a pitiful 100 attacks, and even worse is the ground control station with a range of 200 km. That is, the radius of the voyage cannot exceed 200 km.
Compare it to the Chinese Tengden TB-001 (twin-tailed scorpion), which is also very typical of MALE
- Range: 6,000 km (3,700 miles, 3,200 nautical miles)
- Endurance: 35 hours with a payload of 1,000 kg
- Ceiling: 8,000 m (26,000 ft)
- Maximum load: 1200 public loaves
The gap between the FWD-200B is too big, and unless this drone can be like a motorcycle, with an Indian plug-in, it is really far-fetched to classify it as an unmanned bomber.