What is Lakshya Aircraft?

About Lakshya Aircraft

• It is an indigenously developed micro-light and pilot-less target aircraft.
• It designed and built by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a subsidiary of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), for the Indian Armed Forces.
• The Lakshya was inducted into the Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, and Indian Army in 2000, 2001, and 2003, respectively.
• It is a cost-effective re-usable high subsonic aerial target system powered by a gas turbine engine.
• The engine is designed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore. 
• It is required for evaluation and development trials of new surface-to-air and air-to-air weapon systems.
• It carries two tow targets of tow lengths of 1.5 km each, having radar, IR or visual signature augmentation, and a Miss Distance Indication Scoring System.
• These tow targets are used for training of land- or ship-based gun and missile crew and combat aircraft pilots in weapon engagement. 
• It was designed to launch either from land or sea through a zero-length launcher and be recovered by a dual stage parachute system.
• The Lakshya can be controlled from the ground control station (GCS) through pre-programmed hardware and software systems.
• Designed to be reused for 15 missions, the aircraft can spiflicate airborne incoming enemy targets.

Q1: What is the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)?

It is the R&D wing of the Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India, with a vision to empower India with cutting-edge defence technologies and a mission to achieve self-reliance in critical defence technologies and systems. It is India's largest research organisation. It has a network of laboratories engaged in developing defence technologies covering various fields, like aeronautics, armaments, electronics, land combat engineering, life sciences, materials, missiles, and naval systems.