UMS Skeldar begins training Indonesian operators on Rajawali UAV

A mock-up of the Rajawali-330 UAV at the Singapore Airshow 2016. The Indonesian Army awarded a contract for three such platforms in December 2015. [IHS/Ridzwan Rahmat] ☆

Swiss-based developer of unmanned aircraft systems UMS Skeldar has begun training personnel from the Indonesian Army (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Darat, or TNI-AD) to operate the fixed-wing Rajawali-330 surveillance and reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The training began in Indonesia on 18 April and includes ground-handling procedures as well as flight operations of the fixed-wing UAV, said George Duncan, the director for Asia-Pacific business development at UMS Skeldar, in an interview with IHS Jane's.

The training is scheduled to take place over the next six to eight weeks but the number of personnel involved has not been disclosed.

The Rajawali-330 is a localised version of UMS Skeldar's F-330 fixed-wing surveillance UAV. The system ordered by the TNI-AD has been co-developed with Indonesian defence equipment manufacturer PT Bhinneka Dwi Persada (BDP).

IHS Jane's first reported in February 2016 that the TNI-AD had acquired three Rajawali-330 UAVs for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. One has been delivered and another two are scheduled to arrive by the end of May 2016.

The Rajawali-330 has an overall length of 2.27 m, a height of 0.9 m, and a wingspan of 3.3 m. The aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 21.5 kg and can carry a maximum payload of 10 kg. The UAV is powered by a single-piston engine that can attain a top speed of 70 kt and a cruise speed of 43 kt. When carrying its maximum payload, the Rajawali-330 has an endurance in excess of eight hours.

The UAVs being delivered to the TNI-AD are each equipped with an electro-optical/infrared camera for day and night surveillance, a hyperspectral camera, and a mapping camera with light detection and ranging (LIDAR) capabilities. 

  ☠ IHS Janes