Indo-U.S. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to be flight-tested

Subject :Science and technology

Section: Defence

Concept :

A member of the U.S. government delegation who was attending the Aero India 2023, has said that a prototype of the Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (ALUAV) jointly developed by India and the US would be flight-tested soon.
The US government official has said that the flight testing of ALUAV is expected to commence in September-November of 2023.
The flight testing will take place at a range in northern India and also in the US.
India and the US had signed the Project Arrangement (PA) to ALUAV in 2021 as a part of the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).
Bengaluru-based Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) and the Aerospace Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, along with the Air Forces of India and the U.S. are the main organisations involved in the execution of the project.
According to reports, ALUAV would be launched from the C130J aircraft.

Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI)

In 2012, the Department of Defence created a mechanism for overcoming or reducing these impediments. This effort has evolved into the India-U.S. Defence Technology and Trade Initiative or DTTI.
Objective: The main aim of DTTI is to bring sustained leadership focus to promote collaborative technology exchange and create opportunities for co-production and co-development of future technologies for Indian and US military forces.
DTTI is intended to focus senior U.S. and Indian leadership on real opportunities and challenges associated with strengthening our defence partnership.
While DTTI is not a treaty or law, it elevates the shared commitment of both countries to deepen bilateral defence cooperation
Under the DTTI Terms of Reference, the two leads will meet as the DTTI Group every six months alternating locations between the U.S. and India.
The day-to-day DTTI effort is overseen by the DTTI Interagency Task Force (DIATF).
Four Service-led Joint Working Groups (JWGs) execute projects and activities under DTTI:
- Land Systems (LS),
- Naval Systems (NS),
- Air Systems (AS), and
- Aircraft Carrier Technology Cooperation (ACTC).
Co-development of ALUAV has been overseen by the Joint Working Group on Air Systems and is a major accomplishment for DTTI.