[9] On 14 January 2024, a government source disclosed that TAPAS-BH-201 had been officially closed as a mission mode project due to its inability to achieve the Joint Services Qualitative Requirements (JSQRs) for altitude and endurance.

[10][11] ADE will keep developing the UAV, enhancing its designs and boosting its power to better meet the demands of the armed forces, especially on endurance and altitude.

[12] In October 2010, a senior DRDO official had stated that the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator is an obvious template for the Rustom program.

[14] In contrast to Rustom-I, the next generation version is equipped with enhanced aerodynamic configuration, digital flight control, navigation system, communication intelligence, medium and long-range electro-optic payloads and synthetic aperture radar that will enable it to see through the clouds.

Once inducted, this indigenous medium altitude long endurance (MALE) multirole drone is likely to be an asset for Indian armed forces for its surveillance capability as well as for its use as an unmanned combat aerial vehicle.

[19] There was news of Rustom-II using power plant of Austro Engine but no confirmation from DRDO side considering a Chinese company Wanfeng Auto Holding Group acquired it through Diamond Aircraft Industries in 2016.

In the meantime, Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE) and Tech Mahindra started working on an Indian engine for Rustom-II.

[21][22] During the test phase, five additional prototypes were manufactured close to production variant powered by twin NPO-Saturn 36MT turboprop engines rated 74.57 kW (100 hp).

[22][23] The drone can loiter autonomously at high altitudes performing real-time, high-resolution intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) with its SAR and EO sensors.

[24] Rustom-2 prototype AF-6 crashed on 17 September 2019 due to link loss with the ground station that activated 'return home mode' but rough turbulence beyond the capacity of control law made the platform unstable.

[25] This problem was later rectified in prototype AF-6A with upgraded features like a solid state relay-based low weight power distribution unit, an Indian inertial navigation system and lithium-ion batteries with satellite communication (SATCOM) link.

[31] On 16 June 2023, DRDO and Indian Navy team successfully demonstrated transferring of command & control capabilities of TAPAS UAV from a distant ground station to onboard INS Subhadra, 148 km from Karwar naval base.

It received a boost when the Indian Navy expressed its interest in using TAPAS-BH-201 from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for observation and aerial reconnaissance missions.

[36] In one of the trials, Indian Navy operated the drone over Arabian Sea after taking flight from Chitradurga Aeronautical Test Range (CATR).

[38] India Today stated on 14 February 2023, that the Indian Air Force has formally shown interest in exploring the capabilities of TAPAS-BH-201 to the DRDO.