DRDO's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Rustom-II crashed at Jodi Chikkana Halli in Karnataka's Chitradurga district early on Tuesday morning. The UAV was being tested at Challakere Aeronautical Test Range, which is an outdoor testing facility of the DRDO.
The UAV crash-landed in fields, 40 kms away from the DRDO facility at around 7.50 am on Tuesday, reports said. No casualties have been reported in the incident.
The vehicle suffered a technical snag soon after take-off. The UAV was airborne for one of its initial development flights and was undergoing a test when it crashed, reported ANI.
Unmanned aerial vehicle crashes in farmland near DRDO facility in Chitradurga, Karnataka. Officials have rushed to the spot. pic.twitter.com/eeJ72qouyn
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The villagers rushed to the sight of the crash thinking there were people inside but they did not find anyone. DRDO and the local police reached the spot within minutes and reassured the civilians that it was a UAV that was being tested.
UAV Rustom-II was showcased at the DefExpo in 2014 that was held in New Delhi. It was successfully tested for the first time at the Challakere Aeronautical Test Range in February 2018.
Rustom-II is a medium altitude long endurance UAV which was to replace the current UAVs (Heron) used by the armed forces. Rustom-II is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads like synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence systems and situational awareness payloads, officials had said in 2018. Rustom-II was developed for ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance). It was designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment.
(This is a developing story, more details are awaited)