Indian Navy’s Drishti-10 UAV crashes in Gujarat
New Delhi : An Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle of the Indian Navy crashed off Porbandar airfield during a training sortie in Gujarat, with no casualties reported on the ground.
According to officials, the Navy confirmed the crash of the Drishti-10 UAV and said the cause of the incident is “being investigated.”
“Indian Navy confirms the crash of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle Drishti-10, off Porbandar airfield, during a training sortie this afternoon. No injury or loss of life has been reported on the ground. The cause of the incident is being investigated,” the Navy posted.
The Drishti-10 is an unmanned aerial vehicle in the Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) category and is used largely for surveillance and maritime domain awareness purposes.
Porbandar District Collector S Dhanani told reporters that the UAV crash-landed in an open field at Dharampur village, around 6 km from the coastal city in the Saurashtra region.
“Navy personnel already reached the spot and started further investigation,” he said.
Officials said the drone had taken off from the Naval Air Enclave in Porbandar before going down in the nearby field.
The incident adds to a growing list of air crashes in India in recent months, raising concerns over safety and maintenance standards. Several military aircraft and drones have gone down during training sorties this year, prompting calls for a comprehensive review of operational procedures and equipment upkeep in the armed forces.
