*Porbandar, Gujarat: *The Indian Navy suffered another setback to itssurveillance and reconnaissance capabilities when its remotely pilotedaircraft – an Israeli-made Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) – crashed inGujarat’s Porbandar this afternoon.

The drone was on a routine surveillance mission when it lost thecommunication data link with the Ground Control Station (GCS) and veeredoff course. The drone crashed about 25 km from the INS Sardar Patel navalbase in Porbandar at 1 pm.

No casualties or damage to property have been reported due to the crash.

On March 22, another Heron UAV had crashed near Porbandar. That crash toowas caused by the drone losing the communication data link with the groundstation.

The Heron is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicledeveloped by the Malat division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It iscapable of carrying out operations for up to 52 consecutive hours at aheight of 35,000 feet. The drone navigates using an inbuilt GPS device andcan perform both pre-programmed flights which require no remote assistance,as well as manual flights using a remote from the ground control station.

Though there is no formal data on crashes involving Heron UAVs, reportssuggest that the average crash rate of these drones, since 2013, have beenone per cent, an Indian Navy statement said in March.

Different versions of the Heron UAV have been in operation with all threeIndian Armed Forces since 2001. India plans on buying more Heron dronesfrom Israel over the next few years.