In an important development, the Indian Army has successfully tested an indigenous UAV for autonomous delivery of load over Punjab. The test was carried out for delivery of Covid-19 items.

Crucially, the test proved an ability to operate at far-off ranges, at beyond visual line of sight, meaning the drone was remotely controlled either by a radar or another bigger UAV above it, and possibly the payload the drone could carry.

On the morning of April 16, three such ‘Made in India’ drones were tested over three villages of Abohar in Fazilka district in South-western part of Punjab. The task was ‘Anti-COVID’ operations and to deliver essential supplies, including masks, liquid-sanitiser and medical canisters, sources from the area have confirmed.

Sources said the Army coordinated these tests with the district administration, it is clear such operations can be on a large scale by increasing the number of drones and enhancing the endurance and payload of each drone. The Army uses a few bigger drones for surveillance.

The villages of Gobindgarh, Balluana and Malukpura are located at distance of up to 25 km from the launch point and fall beyond visual line of sight range from base. These tests would probably have been one of the first-of-its-kind in India with a large medical delivery cargo carried by autonomous drones.