Drishti 10 Indian Navy drone of Israeli origin crashed near the strategic city of Porbandar
NEW DELHI – India’s military modernization drive suffered another major setback when the navy’s latest Drishti-10 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed during a routine training mission near the strategic coastal city of Porbandar in Gujarat.
Indian Navy officials confirmed that the drone crashed in an open area during a routine training flight. While no casualties or damage were reported, the state-of-the-art surveillance platform was completely destroyed, prompting the Navy to launch a high-level board of inquiry to determine the cause of the accident.
The accident is another embarrassment for India’s high-profile indigenous defense manufacturing campaign, with the Drishti-10 being promoted as the country’s next-generation intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aerial vehicle.
India markets the Drishti-10 as the first indigenous MALE UCAV, but in reality, it is only a locally assembled version of the Israeli Hermes UCAV.
So far, only 5x drones have been delivered to the Indian Navy, but IN has already crashed two of them.
pic.twitter.com/NDtaIWNBkw
— Armed Forces Update (@ArmedUpdat1947) July 8, 2026
The Drishti-10 is based on Israel’s popular Hermes 900 UAV and is developed by Adani Defense in collaboration with Israeli defense company Elbit Systems. The platform was introduced as a key asset for maritime surveillance, intelligence gathering and reconnaissance operations in the Indian Ocean and sensitive coastal areas.
The loss of such a strategic surveillance asset raises questions about the operational reliability, maintenance standards, technology integration, and effectiveness of locally assembled advanced defense systems. The drone crashed near Porbandar, one of India’s most important naval points due to its proximity to Pakistan’s maritime borders and its role in monitoring shipping lanes in the Arabian Sea and the northern Indian Ocean.
The latest accident adds to the long list of military aviation incidents that have challenged India’s defense establishment over the years. Previous accidents involving MiG-21 fighters and other military aircraft have repeatedly sparked debate over fleet reliability, maintenance practices, pilot training, and procurement policies.
The incident also brought renewed attention to the Modi government’s flagship “Make in India” defense initiative, which aims to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers through domestic manufacturing and strategic partnerships. Representing one of the flagship projects of the Drishti-10 programme, Adani Defense announced in February 2024 that it would supply the Hermes 900-based drone to the Indian Navy under its collaboration with Elbit Systems.
Inspectors are expected to look closely at the board of inquiry’s findings to determine whether the accident resulted from mechanical failure, maintenance lapses, operational errors, or some other technical problem.
Here’s how Pakistan beat Indian Rafale pilots by 200km in May’s showdown
The post Drishti 10 drone of Israeli origin crashed near the strategic city of Porbandar appeared first on Daily Pakistan English News.
Stay updated with the latest alerts on this story:
View Original Coverage
