DRDO Nishant The DRDO Nishant is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ( UAV ) developed by India ' s ADE ( Aeronautical Development Establishment ) a branch of DRDO for the Indian Armed Forces . The Nishant UAV is primarily tasked with intelligence gathering over enemy territory and also for reconnaissance , training , surveillance , target designation , artillery fire correction , damage assessment , ELINT and SIGINT . The UAV has an endurance of 4 h 30 min . Nishant has completed development phase and user trials . The 380 kg ( 840 lb ) Nishant UAV requires rail - launching from a hydro - pneumatic launcher and recovered by a Parachute System . Launches at a velocity of 45 m / s are carried out in 0 . 6 second with 100 kW power and subsequent launches can be carried out in intervals of 20 minutes . The Mobile Hydro - Pneumatic Launcher ( MHPL ) system mounted on a Tatra truck weighs 14 , 000 kg ( 31 , 000 lb ) and boasts of a life cycle of 1000 launches before requiring overhaul . Nishant is one of the few UAVs in the world in its weight - class capable of being catapult - launched and recovered by using parachute , thus eliminating the need for a runway as in case of conventional take - off and landing with wheels . Development . To meet the Army ’ s operational requirement of an RPV it was decided in September 1988 that the Defence Research and Development Organisation would undertake the indigenous development of the UAV . The General Staff Qualitative Requirement ( GSQR ) was finalised by the Army in May 1990 . The Nishant RPV made its first test flight in 1995 . In July 1999 , for the first time the Indian army deployed its new Nishant UAV system in the fight against guerilla forces backed by Pakistan in Kashmir . Nishant , which had been developed for battlefield surveillance and reconnaissance needs of the Indian Army , was test flown again in early 2002 . The indigenous Unmanned Air Vehicle ( UAV ) Nishant developed by ADE , DRDO had completed its 100th flight by June 15 , 2002 The Indian Army has placed an order for 12 Nishant UAVs along with ground support systems . Nishant Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ( UAV ) developed by DRDO for Indian Army was successfully flight tested near Kolar on 20 June 2008 . Nishant has completed development phase and user trials . The present flight tests are pre confirmatory trials before induction into services . Test flight with Wankel engine . On Sunday 5 April 2009 DRDO launched a test flight of the Nishant UAV . The main goal was to test the performance of the Wankel engine used on the UAV . An abandoned World War II runway at a village near Kolar played host to the first ever flight of this indigenous rotary engine - powered UAV . The flight took off on early Sunday morning and climbed to an altitude of effortlessly before cruising for a duration of 35 minutes . The air vehicle was recovered safely at the intended place at a dried - up lake , after a total flight duration of 40 min . The engine , a Wankel rotary type , was the developmental project of the DRDO and was jointly designed and developed by NAL , a CSIR laboratory , VRDE , Ahmednagar and ADE , Bangalore . The provisional flight clearance for the first indigenous prototype engine was given by the certifying agency , RCMA . RCMA is Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification under CEMILAC as a corporate office . CEMILAC is a corporate body of DRDO ' s Ceritifying authority . it stands for CEntre for MILitary Airworthiness and Certification . All military aircraft are certified by CEMILAC located at Bangalore under Ministry of Defence . The engine was cleared for flight after rigorous ground endurance test runs . The Wankel engine weighs about 30 kg ( 70 lb ) , and this engine type is known for its high power - to - weight ratio in a single rotor category . DRDO was satisfied with the test results . The performance of the engine during the flight met the requirements of the first flight of a engine in the air vehicle . This 55 hp indigenous engine is expected to replace the present imported engine of Nishant . The critical core engine , including the special cylinder composite nickel – silicon carbide coating and special aluminium alloy castings , was designed and developed by NAL . VRDE developed engine peripherals such as the ignition and fuel systems and ADE developed flight testing . The reconnaissance UAV , which has completed its user trials with the Indian Army , is expected to be handed over to the army shortly . Nishant UAV again underwent crucial confirmatory user trials at Pokhran in April 2010 . The trials began April 20 and were supposed to last for one week . A senior Army official at Pokhran said the trials are moving forward in a very satisfactory manner . “ We are checking three crucial parameters : video quality , tracking ability and fall of gunshot [ missed distance after firing ] . These input performances are critical to our operations in the forward areas , ” the official said . DRDO has delivered the first four UAVs to the Indian Army at a cost of 800 million ( $ 17 . 9 million ) . According to the Times Of India , two UAVs crash - landed in Jaisalmer district near the India - Pak border due to change in wind direction on Apr 28th and Apr 30th . Confirming the news , a DRDO official said , " The user trials were going on and during the flight there were some technical snags owing to which the craft was landed using parachutes . " He said , " But the landing was done safely and no one was hurt in the process . Though before our officials could reach to get the craft back , villagers damaged the aircraft and took away some equipment . " On 3rd Feb 2011 Nishant UAV has successfully completed confirmatory trials conducted by the Indian Army at Pokhran , Rajasthan