DRDO decided to name the UAV after him because it is derived from National Aerospace Laboratories' light canard research aircraft (LCRA) developed under Rustom Damania's leadership in the 1980s.

The agency will also follow up issues related to infrastructure and expertise for the product and its support, thereby overcoming time delays in crucial projects.

[9] Rustom-1 has a wingspan of 7.9 m (26 ft)[10] and weighs 720 kg (1,590 lb),[10] will be launched by the conventional method and not the launcher as in the case of the DRDO Lakshya.

Rustom will be able to see the enemy territory up to a distance of 250 km (160 mi) and carry a variety of cameras and radar for surveillance.

Currently, negotiations are underway between these companies and the three Indian armed forces since the private majors are looking for support and commitment from them before they start executing any development and production plans.

The Armed Forces would also be asked to take up a financial stake and the Indian government may have to guarantee that a specific number of Rustom UAVs will be bought.

On 09 Nov 21 the project achieved the rare distinction of indigenously developing Automatic Take off and Landing (ATOL) using GAGAN SBAS.

The highlight of the flight was that Rustom-1 was test flown with the 'gimbal payload assembly carrying daylight TV & Infra-Red camera for the first time.

The 14th Successful Flight of Rustom-1 was reported on 8 May 2012, with the attainment of about 3,500 m (11,500 ft) above ground level and speed of above 140 km/h (87 mph) during 2 hours 10 minutes of operation.

[26] TAPAS-BH-201 completed satellite communication (SATCOM) mode trial and flew with long range electro-optical payload as of 16 August 2020.

[29] The Archer is a further development of the previous Rustom-1 with a single engine in pusher configuration with features for Autonomous Take Off and Landing (ATOL) and EO/IR payload.

It also includes a weaponised variant which can fire Helina ATGM and laser-guided rocket along with integration of VSHORAD planned in future.

Roles of the aircraft includes ISTAR, artillery target acquisition and battlefield post-strike assessment as well as precision strikes.

[34][33] As per updates in January 2025, the high-speed taxi trials have been completed while the first flight is expected in February, likely before the Aero India 2025 airshow at Yelehanka AFS.

[37] As of February 2025, the taxi trials are complete and is the system is awaiting final certification while the first flight is scheduled in March.