Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) lakshya of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crash-landed at Chandamuhi village under Baliapal block in Baleswar district of Odisha on Friday.
Though the reason behind the crash was yet to be ascertained, it was suspected that some technical glitches led to the mishap.
According to locals, they heard a loud noise at around 11.30 am while working at farmland. After heading towards the direction of the noise, they found the aircraft on a patch of agricultural field.
No loss of life and property was reported in the incident, informed Baleswar Superintendent of Police Niti Shekhar.
ITR (Integrated Test Range, Chandipur) personnel rushed to the site to salvage the vehicle.
A senior ITR scientist said, “It (the vehicle) was on a routine mission. There no issue of concern. Everything is safe. Care is being taken to remove the vehicle from the site.”
Another source said the vehicle had flown with a target for a rocketry practice of IAF. The UAV was supposed to land in seawater but inadvertently crashed on land, away from the designated place of drop.
Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), lakshya is remotely operated from ground to provide aerial target for training of gun and missile crew and air defence pilots for all the three military services. It remains in air for about 30 minutes and lands in seawater and is recovered subsequently and used.