An unmanned navy plane has reportedly crashed in Porbandar, Gujarat. The crash is said to have taken place near the GIDC police station area.
While the exact cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained, the plane is suspected to have faced technical issues. An inquiry into the incident has been launched.
#Porbandar#UAV#Navy
— PINAK SHUKLA (@PINAK_SHUKLA) March 22, 2018
Unmanned navy plane crashed near porbandar GIDC police station area..technical issues may be the cause of crash, inquiry begins .@tv9gujarati
.@indiannavy
The Indian Navy is known to use unmanned aerial vehicles to keep an eye on coasts and well as conduct several missions.
The UAV Heron, used by the Indian Navy, has been manufactured by the Israel Aerospace Industries. It is a medium-altitude long-endurance plane with an operational speed of about 209.2 kilometers per hour and a range of 349 kilometers.
The Heron uses a GPS system to navigate and can carry several sensors such as infrared cameras, intelligence systems and other radar systems. The Heron is also capable of target acquisition.
The navy also uses the UAV Searcher, also built by the Israel Aerospace Industries in the 1980s. The plane operates at a speed of 201 kilometers per hour with a range of 18 hours.
It is powered by a 35-kilowatt piston engine and comes with several sensor systems. The navy and the air force operates over 100 Searchers and other countries that use the aircraft are Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, South Korea, Russia, Singapore, Spain and Thailand to name a few.
