CHITRADURGA: An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation during a trial in an agricultural field at Jodi Chikkanahalli village of Challakere taluk in Chitradurga district on Tuesday morning.
Sources said that the UAV called 'Rustom-II' which crash-landed in the fields some 40 kilometers away from the DRDO outdoor Aeronautical Testing Range, might have developed a technical snag.
Sources in the DRDO facility said that the vehicle went out of crash before falling in the arecanut grove nearby at around 7:50 AM.
DRDO scientists and local police reached the spot within several minutes as the incident triggered panic among villagers who gathered near the site.
Rustom-II is a medium altitude long endurance vehivle which was to replace the current UAVs (Heron) used by the armed forces. Capable of carrying different combinations of payloads like synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence systems and situational awareness payloads, Rustom-II was developed for ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance). It was designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment.
UAV Rustom-II was showcased at the Defence Expo 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.