A Drishti 10 Starliner UAV produced by Adani Defense and Aerospace, Adani’s defense arm, as an indigenous copy of Elbit Systems’ Hermes 900 crashed off the Porbandar coast in Gujarat, not far from India’s border with Pakistan, Hindustan Times reports.
The UAV, a medium-endurance, long-endurance (male) aircraft, entered service with the Indian Navy last year. The specific drones that crashed were pre-acceptance trials prior to delivery to the Navy. The same type of drone serves the Indian Army in intelligence gathering operations. According to ‘India Today’, the Drishti 10 lost control during the flight and crashed into the sea, raising questions about the reliability of the product. No one was injured in the incident, and the drones were collected by Adani Defense and Aerospace.
The Drishti 10 is one of the key products in the defense cooperation agreement between Israel and India, which requires companies to operate in accordance with the “Made in India” policy. Elbit Systems licenses the Hermes 900 design to Adani Defense and Aerospace for sale in India’s growing defense market. The Hermes 900 could cost $6.85 million.
According to local reports in India, the Indian Navy ordered the drones in an emergency order and two others in a routine order. 70% of the Indian version of the aircraft is manufactured in India. Like the Hermes 900, the Drishti 10 can operate in all weather conditions. The maximum flight time is 36 hours, and it can carry a payload of 450 kilograms, enabling it to be used as a weapon.
The Swiss are not satisfied either
This is the second time the HERMES 900 model has been acquired from Elbit Systems. Two weeks ago, Radio Schweizer Und Fernsehen reported that after Switzerland ordered six of them, the Swiss Air Force was surprised to discover that the plane lacked a critical component to operate in the country’s airspace. The Federal Parliamentary Finance Committee wrote to Swiss Defense Minister Viola Ammerd warning that the commissioning of the ELBIT systems UAV is not progressing, and that the Swiss defense contractor RUAG needs to solve the problem.
The problem is in detecting the system and avoiding aircraft, which is especially important in the Swiss terrain. The committee states that unless this system is functioning properly, operating the aircraft will be subject to restrictions and will be much more expensive.
The Swiss Parliament approved the purchase of the drones in 2015, but the technical problem is so vulnerable that the order will not be finalized until next year. To date, the Swiss Air Force has received four of the six UAVs. The parliamentary committee letter states that the entire fleet will probably not be fully operational until 2029, rather than 2019 as planned.
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on January 19, 2025.
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