The Made-In-Turkey, Fired-From-Lahore Drone Shot Down By India In Op Sindoor

NDTV was given exclusive access Monday to a weaponised drone - one of hundreds Pakistan fired at Indian military installations and civilian settlements in May, during Operation Sindoor - that was deconstructed and put on display at Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi's Delhi home.

The display, which included other Indian Army's memorabilia, was to mark Vijay Diwas.

Starting May 8, 24 hours after India destroyed terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pak-occupied Kashmir as retaliation for the Pahalgam attack, Pak responded with a barrage of hundreds of armed drones targeting 36 towns or cities across Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Punjab.

One of those drones was a YIHA-III, a type of 'kamikaze' or 'suicide drone' developed jointly by Turkey and Pakistan, and used extensively by the latter during Operation Sindoor.

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These are called 'kamikaze' because they are weapon systems that can hover over, or circle a designated area, searching for a suitable target before launching its suicide attack. However, almost all the drones were shot down by India and the Indian armed forces' nearly-impenetrable multi-layered, missile defence system.

The drone on display at the Army Chief's home was a YIHA-III that was flying at an altitude of 2,000 metres when it was shot down on May 10. It had been launched from Lahore International Airport with an estimated 10kg of munitions, and the intended target was the Indian Air Force base in Punjab's Hoshiarpur, officials said.

But it was never allowed to reach that target; it was shot down over Amritsar.

Cyber experts from the Indian Army have since taken the drone apart and analysed its components, including the flight control system, to establish its origin and target.

There were reports the Pak military also launched Turkish-made 'Songar' armed drones, all five variants of which are made by Ankara-based defence company Asisguard.

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The five variants are differentiated by the weapons they carry - 5.56 x 45 mm assault rifle, 2 x 40 mm grenade launcher, 6 x 40 drum-type grenade launcher, and 3 x 81 mm mortar gripper. The non-lethal version can carry eight tear gas canisters.