Tamil Nadu govt. permits use of airstrip for exclusive drone operations in Kallakurichi

Anna University researchers to develop and test Advanced Desert/High Altitude Swarm Drones at Ulundurpet airport for various applications.

:

Aerospace researchers of Anna University will use the defunct airport at Ulundurpet of Kallakurichi district for developing and testing Advanced Desert/High Altitude Swarm Drones.

These drones are designed to detect and deliver payloads, and execute complex tasks autonomously using pre-defined conditions and Artificial Intelligence. They are engineered to operate at both low and high altitudes with a maximum range of 50 km, one way.

According to official sources, the Tamil Nadu government has granted permission to the Centre for Aerospace Research (CASR), a unit of Anna University at the Madras Institute of Technology here, to conduct drone trials for Swarm Drones at the Ulundurpet Airstrip — considering the availability of ground and air spacein the region — for a period of 6 months starting from December 20, 2024.

As part of the ongoing research, CASR scientists are working on a Hybrid VTOL Fixed-Wing Swarm Drone System. The focus is on deploying up to 25 Advanced Desert/High Altitude drones in a swarm.

Apart from strategic operations, the Swarm Drones — capable of providing live visuals, and delivering essential supplies such as food and medicines — will be useful in relief and rescue operations at disaster sites.

The researchers had written to the State government requesting the allocation of land with low population density. They suggested that the UlundurpetAirstrip would serve the purpose as it was safe and conducive toconduct the tests within a radius of 50 km from the airstrip.