Indian Navy to get replacement of crashed Adani-built Dhristi 10 Starliner drone in 6 months

New Delhi: The Indian Navy will get the replacement of the Adani Defence and Aerospace-built Drishti 10 Starliner drone, which crashed off Gujarat's Porbandar coast on January 14, in six months, a top defence official said. The drone was undergoing acceptance trials before being formally delivered to the force. This was the second drone to be handed over to the force. 

Drishti 10 Starliner drone, also known as Hermes 900, costs over Rs 120 crore each bird, sources had told Asianet Newsable that “there won’t be any financial implications for the force as the system was not yet inducted.”
 
The medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drones were procured by the Indian Navy and the Indian Army under emergency financial powers to boost their intelligence surveillance reconnaissance capabilities.
 
Know about the Drishti 10 Starliner in detail: --
 
Built at its Hyderabad facility, the Adani Defence and Aerospace received technology transfer from Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems.
 
The company said that the Drishti 10 Starliner is an all-weather platform, which has clearance to fly in both segregated and unsegregated airspace, with 70 percent of indigenous content, has an endurance of 36 hours, and can carry a payload of 450 kg.
 
The drone system is equipped with state-of-the-art sensors, enhanced endurance, and advanced communication capabilities, as well as new-age technologies like Automatic Take Off and Landing (ATOL). It can fly at altitudes of 10,000 to 30,000 feet.

The first Drishti-10 Starliner surveillance drone was delivered to the force in February 2024 in the presence of the then Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar.
 
 Crashed MQ-9B SeaGuardian replaced
 
The sources said that the crashed US defense giant General Atomics-made MQ-9B Sea Guardian remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) has been replaced and is being operated by the Indian Navy now.
 
One of the two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones crashed into the Bay of Bengal on September 18, 2024.
 
The high-altitude long-endurance surveillance platform is in service with the Indian Navy under a lease agreement signed with the US’ General Atomics in 2020.
 
Being operated from naval air station Rajali in Tamil Nadu, the two RPAs together flew over 18,000 hours.
 
In 2024, India inked a deal with the United States to procure 31 MQ-9B Sea/Sky Guardian drones worth USD 3.5 billion in an effort to keep an eye on and watch China in the Indian Ocean Region.
 
Of 31, 15 drones will be delivered to the Indian Navy, while eight each will be delivered to the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.
 
Sources said, “We will be getting these drones from January 2029.”