The failure of power generators and batteries on board the MQ-9B Predator drones operated for the Indian Navy by an American firm led to its crash last week off the Chennai coast.
The Indian Navy said that a High Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft (HALE RPA) encountered a technical failure on Wednesday, after which the aircraft was navigated to a safe area over the sea and carried out a controlled ditching at sea off Chennai.
The Indian Army and the Air Force are planning to jointly deploy MQ-9B Predator drones at air bases in Sarsawa and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, for upgrading their surveillance capabilities all along the Line of Actual Control with China from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
Amid the ongoing global instability, Chinese submarines and warships are moving towards Pakistan for likely wargames and are being closely tracked by the Indian Navy assets including the P-8I surveillance planes and MQ-9B Predator drones.