India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has demonstrated the capabilities of its Controlled Aerial Delivery System with 500kg payload capacity (CADS-500).
The trials are part of a range of activities planned to commemorate India’s 75 years of Independence.
The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that the demonstration was carried out by the DRDO’s Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) in Agra.
ADRDE is a research and development (R&D) laboratory of DRDO.
CADS-500 uses a Ram Air Parachute’s (RAP) gliding and manoeuvrable capability to deliver the attached payload.
In the flight demonstration, the CADS-500’s system performance was showcased at the drop-zone in Malpura, India.
An AN-32 twin engine, tactical light transport aircraft was used to para-drop the system from an altitude of some 5,000m.
The CADS system was then directed in an autonomous mode to the ‘predesignated landing point’.
A total of 11 paratroopers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Army successfully chased the CADS in the air and landed at the same time.
According to the MoD, the CADS-500 system uses Global Positioning System (GPS) during the flight for heading information and waypoint navigation to direct its flight path autonomously.
Earlier this year, DRDO delivered retractable landing gear (RLG) systems for two different class of uncrewed aerial vehicles namely, Tapas and SWiFT.
