"The ATR is the first of its kind range in the country exclusively meant to conduct flight-tests of indigenous unmanned and manned aircrafts, developed by the DRDO including the naval and trainer versions of the Light Combat Aircraft, the unmanned air vehicles- Rustom-I and Rustom-II (Tapas); the airborne early warning & control systems (AEW&C), air-to-ground weapons, parachutes and aerostats, etc," a statement issued by India's Defense Ministry said.
"We have a neighbor who has been perpetuating security threats for the past seven decades as far as India is concerned. And therefore our level of defense preparedness should be optimal, as it always is. And if your level of defense preparedness is always to be optimal, you need to eventually establish facilities that, to a large extent, can be manufactured within the country," Arun Jaitley said.
Last November, Indian scientist had successfully carried out the test flight of Tapas 201 (Rustom-II), a medium altitude long endurance (MALE) UAV at the ATR.
