UAV crashes near K'taka-TN border

Official sources said the flight originated at the Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Limited (TAAL), which has a private airfield near Hosur. The UAV, however, did not cause any damage. 

The UAV is said to have taken off from the TAAL aerodrome and crashed around 4.30 pm. Sources said the aerodrome has a contract with the Indian defence forces for testing and conducting flight trials, and this particular UAV was described as an experimental flight being operated using remote control. The Attibele police confirmed that the crash had taken place near the TVS factory in the Mathikere area on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border.

Currently, the DRDO is conducting a test of its UAV in the Taneja airfield. Though DRDO officials denied any accident, it had earlier been reported that its Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) was conducting high speed flight trials of a technology demonstrator (TD) of UAV Rustom at the Taneja Aerodrome.

The Rustom is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance unmanned aerial vehicle being developed by ADE at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. The Rustom UAV has a wingspan of 20 metres and a maximum speed of 225 km per hour and will operate at 30,000 feet altitude though the ceiling would be 35,000 feet. Rustom can locate the enemy territory up to a distance of 250 km and carry a variety of cameras and radar for surveillance. It is expected to be better in its capabilities than the imported Israeli UAV Heron currently used by the Army.