Navy flags off India-made 'Starliner' drone: All you need to know

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar flagged off India's first indigenously manufactured Drishti 10 'Starliner' Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for the Navy in Hyderabad, on Wednesday, NDTV reported.

Here's all you need to know about the newly unveiled Starliner drone:

Features:

Manufactured by Adani Defence, the 'Starliner' drone is an advanced Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform with 36-hour endurance. It has a payload capacity of 450 kg.

It is the only military platform that can fly in both segregated and unsegregated airspace. It is also the only platform to have a NATO STANAG 4671 certification.

(NATO STANAG 4671 is the NATO Standardized Agreement 4671 which is the UAV System Airworthiness Requirements (USAR). It is meant to allow military UAVs to operate in other NATO members' airspace.)

Flag-off ceremony:

The flag-off ceremony took place at the Adani Aerospace Park, Hyderabad.

Adani Defence said that the UAV will fly from Hyderabad to Porbandar to be inducted into the naval maritime operations.

At the flag-off ceremony, Admiral R Hari Kumar said, "This is a momentous occasion and a transformative step in India's quest for self-reliance in ISR technology and maritime supremacy. Adani Group has demonstrated its commitment to unmanned systems having worked systematically over the last many years to develop local capabilities not limited to manufacturing but sustenance through MRO."

"Drishti 10's integration into our naval operations will enhance our naval capabilities, strengthening our preparedness for the ever-evolving maritime surveillance and reconnaissance", he added.

Jeet Adani, VP, Adani Enterprises, said the recent geopolitical events have reinforced the convergence of physical, informational and cognitive tactics underpinned by intelligence, information processing capabilities, use of unmanned systems and cyber-systems for dissemination of information and disinformation.

(With PTI inputs)