Adani Defence Delivers 2nd Drishti-10 Drone To Navy, To Boost Maritime Forces

New Delhi: Adani Defence and Aerospace has delivered a second Drishti-10 Starliner surveillance drone to the Indian Navy, boosting India’s maritime forces’ capabilities to monitor shipping lines and mitigate piracy risks.

Following the handover of the first Drishti-10 to the Indian Navy earlier this year, the induction of the second unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), a version of the Israel’s Hermes 900 medium-altitude long-endurance UAV, into naval maritime operations was initiated at Porbandar in Gujarat, sources aware of the matter said.

Drishti 10 Starliner drone, manufactured by Adani Defence and Aerospace, a part of the conglomerate helmed by billionaire Gautam Adani, at its Hyderabad facility, is an advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform with 36 hours endurance and 450 kg payload capacity. The only all-weather military platform, with NATO’s STANAG 4671 (standardized agreement 4671) certification for the UAV system’s airworthiness, is cleared to fly in both segregated and unsegregated airspace.

Sources said the platform provides over the horizon, persistent multi payload, fully autonomous capabilities and Satcom-based operations. The Drishti 10 is a force multiplier providing the Indian Navy with the ability to monitor vast maritime territories and unparalleled situational awareness. This marks the first-ever integration of such an advanced payload suites onto a MALE platform, enabling the Indian Navy with differentiated capabilities to dominate maritime surveillance, they said. MALE stands for Medium Altitude Long Endurance, and is a type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can fly at altitudes of 10,000 to 30,000 feet.