Stating that autonomous systems were becoming a preferred choice in the Order of Battle for nations across the globe, Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar said on Wednesday that recent (maritime) incidents in Northern Arabian Sea “amply demonstrate the challenges posed by such systems when they fall in the hands of non-state actors and terrorists.”
He was speaking at the unveiling event of the first Drishti-10 starliner Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) manufactured by Adani Defence and Aerospace for the Navy in Hyderabad. It is an indigenously built version of Hermes-900 UAV of Elbit Systems of Israel and according to the Adani has over 70% indigenous content.
The Army and Navy have contracted two Hermes-900s each under emergency procurement last year.
