National Aerospace Laboratory wants govt. push for Saras Mk2 takeoff

News:National Aerospace Laboratory has said that the Government of India should buy at least 50-60 Saras Mk2 aircraft to make production commercially viable.

Facts:

About Saras Mk2 aircraft:

• Saras Mk2 is the first Indian multi-purpose civilian aircraft.It is designed by the National Aerospace Laboratories(NAL). 
• The project was started in 1991 and the first prototype was introduced in 2004.However,the project was scrapped after the aircraft crashed in 2009.
• In 2017,the project was again revived.The upgraded SARAS PT1N completed its test flight in 2018. 

Features of the aircraft:

• The aircraft falls in the light transport aircraft category.It is capable of executing both day and night missions. 
• It can be used for transporting civilians, freight and in remote sensing exercises. 
• It can take off and land from semi-prepared airfields and even on grass runways. 
• The aircraft has been designed to travel at 425 km/h and it has a maximum continuous flight time of around five hours.