Drishti-10 drone: Adani Defence and Aerospace has delivered a second Drishti-10 Starliner surveillance drone to the Indian Navy, enhancing the country's maritime capabilities to monitor shipping lanes and mitigate piracy risks.
After the first Drishti-10 was handed over to the Indian Navy earlier this year, the induction of the second unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a version of Israel's Hermes 900 medium-altitude long-endurance UAV, into naval maritime operations was initiated at Porbandar in Gujarat, sources aware of the matter said.
Drishti 10 drone has 450 kg payload capacity
The Drishti 10 Starliner drone, manufactured by Adani Defence and Aerospace at its Hyderabad facility, is an advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform. It boasts an impressive 36-hour endurance and a 450 kg payload capacity.
The only all-weather military platform, with NATO's STANAG 4671 (standardized agreement 4671) certification for the UAV system's airworthiness, is cleared to fly in both segregated and unsegregated airspace.
According to the sources, the platform provides over-the-horizon, persistent multi-payload, fully autonomous capabilities and Satcom-based operations.
Drishti 10 helps to monitor vast maritime territories
The Drishti 10 Starliner serves as a force multiplier, greatly enhancing the Indian Navy's capacity to monitor vast maritime territories and providing unparalleled situational awareness. This marks the first-ever integration of advanced payload suites onto a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) platform, enabling the Indian Navy with differentiated capabilities to dominate maritime surveillance, they said.
MALE is a type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can fly at altitudes of 10,000 to 30,000 feet. MALE UAVs are typically used for surveillance and reconnaissance, and can have a flight endurance of 24 to 48 hours.
The first Drishti-10 Starliner was delivered to the Indian Navy in January this year and the second to the Army in June. The Indian Army, which has ordered two such drones, will deploy the first at its Bhatinda base in Punjab from where it can keep an eye on the entire western border with Pakistan.
Drishti 10 has reached significant milestones through its flight operations in Porbandar and Bhatinda by the Indian Navy and the Indian Army, exemplifying a new era for India's indigenous unmanned defence capabilities.
(With PTI inputs)
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