Throttle Aerospace nimble-i micro-UAV enters Indian service

TAS nimble-i micro-UAV along with handheld controller displayed at the Drone International Expo 2023 in New Delhi, India. (Janes/Akshara Parakala)

Throttle Aerospace Systems (TAS) Pvt Ltd of RattanIndia Enterprises has delivered its nimble-i micro-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to the Indian Army.

The nimble-i was unveiled at the 4th Drone International Expo, which was held in New Delhi from 26 to 27 July.

TAS told Janes, “Work on [developing] nimble-i started in 2017 followed by flight tests in late 2018.” The company received an order to supply two nimble-i UAVs to the Indian Army and the UAVs were delivered in May 2023.

The nimble-i is a multirotor, electric-powered, micro-UAV developed to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. The UAV is designed totake on civil and military roles such as border surveillance, disaster management, and forest and wildfire monitoring.

The UAV features four detachable arms ending with landing legs housing electric motors powering the fixed-pitch two-bladed propellers. The central mast is attached with arms, a three-axis gimballed electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) turret, and a battery at the bottom. The electric motors support vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) operations.

The UAV is built using lightweight composites, with a maximum take-off weight of 2 kg and payload weight of 0.5 kg. It has a communication range of 5 km, and an endurance of 30 minutes. The UAV can tolerate wind speeds up to 12 m/s. In addition, the UAV, which uses Global Positioning System (GPS) or global navigation satellite services (GNSS) for its operations. The nimble-i UAV package comprises a handheld controller and a display screen, and the system is manportable. This hand-launched UAV can be recovered by palm and transfer real-time video.