Platform profile · India · Medium-altitude long-endurance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance UAV · Indian Armed Forces
TAPAS-BH-201 (Tactical Aerial Platform for Advanced Surveillance - Beyond Horizon)
WatchTAPAS technology transfer was reported on 2026-05-06, while platform procurement remains uncontracted after its removal from mission-mode status.
On 6 May 2026, Raksha Anirveda reported that DRDO had begun transferring TAPAS subsystems to private companies ahead of a proposed 87-aircraft Indian MALE-UAV competition. In June 2024, Financial Express reported an Air Force plan to seek ten aircraft, split six for the IAF and four for the Navy, but no procurement contract has been confirmed. Defence officials said in January 2024 that TAPAS had been removed from mission-mode status after demonstrating about 18 hours at 28,000 feet rather than the services' 24-hour and 30,000-foot objectives, while ADE would continue improving it. The programme nevertheless passed 200 flights in June 2023 and demonstrated a 148-kilometre command handover to INS Subhadra. TAPAS matters because its airframe, autonomous-control, landing-gear and communications work can seed an Indian MALE-UAV industrial base even if the original platform is not inducted at scale.
Updated 6 May 2026
Verified figures
Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Class | Medium-altitude long-endurance UAV ↗ |
| Primary mission | Tri-service intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, tracking and reconnaissance ↗ |
| Demonstrated altitude | Up to 28,000 ft ↗ |
| Demonstrated endurance | More than 18 hours ↗ |
| Payload capacity | Up to 350 kg ↗ |
| Direct communications reach | Up to 250 km by line-of-sight link ↗ |
| Communications | C-band line-of-sight and Ku-band satellite links ↗ |
| Payload suite | Electronic-warfare, electro-optical and synthetic-aperture-radar payloads ↗ |
| Flight operation | Autonomous or remotely controlled; day and night operation ↗ |
| Landing gear | Indigenous three-tonne-class retractable tricycle nose-wheel hydro-electro-mechanical system ↗ |
Spec sources: pib.gov.in ↗ · indianexpress.com ↗ · raksha-anirveda.com ↗ · pib.gov.in ↗ · hindustantimes.com ↗ · pib.gov.in ↗
Changelog
Program timeline
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Raksha Anirveda reported that DRDO had begun transferring TAPAS landing-gear, autonomous-take-off-and-landing, flight-control, engine-control, communications and ground-control technologies to private companies ahead of a proposed 87-MALE-UAV tender.
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Indian media reported that the Army had partnered with DRDO for a further round of TAPAS trials.
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Financial Express reported that the IAF planned to seek ten TAPAS aircraft, allocating six to the Air Force and four to the Navy, with HAL and BEL proposed as production partners.
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India Today reported that the IAF had formally expressed interest and that the Navy was likely to receive two DRDO-held TAPAS aircraft for trials, with a possible later Navy order of 10-12 aircraft.
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Defence officials told India Today that TAPAS had been taken out of mission-mode status but ADE would continue development to improve altitude and endurance beyond the demonstrated 28,000 feet and 18-plus hours.
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DRDO demonstrated TAPAS's 200th flight to a tri-service team at the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga and declared it ready for user-evaluation trials.
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DRDO and the Navy transferred control of a TAPAS flying at 20,000 feet from its ground station to INS Subhadra 148 km from Karwar; the 3-hour-30-minute sortie included 40 minutes under ship control.
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The Indian Express reported that HAL was to produce six TAPAS airframes for user evaluation, while DRDO cited a 250 km range and payload capacity of up to 350 kg.
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CVRDE handed ADE the first industry-built set of the indigenous three-tonne retractable tricycle landing gear developed for TAPAS.
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A Rustom-II test aircraft crash-landed near Jodi Chikkanahalli in Karnataka, about 40 km from the Chitradurga test range; local sources cited a possible technical snag.
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The Rustom-II prototype that evolved into TAPAS completed its maiden flight at Challakere, about 200 km from Bengaluru.
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