Indian Army's Surveillance Drone Crosses LoC, Enters Pakistan Due To 'Malfunction'

New Delhi: A tactical surveillance drone of the Indian Army inadvertently crossed the Line of Control (LoC) from Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri sector and landed in Pakistan on Friday,

As per the sources, India has informed Pakistan over the hotline that the drone was on a training mission and had inadvertently crossed over after losing control. The Indian Army has asked the Pakistani counterparts to return the mini UAV which had crossed the border due to "technical malfunction".  

Earlier in March 2022, a Brahmos Supersonic Missile had entered into the Pakistani borders. 

Brahmos Enters Pakistani Borders 

India accidentally fired a BrahMos missile into Pakistan, with human error causing the unprecedented incident. The IAF attributed the incident to a technical malfunction during routine maintenance.

Over the incident, Defence minister Rajnath Singh also said that standard operating procedures (SOPs) for “operations, maintenance, and inspection” of such systems were being reviewed.

While Pakistan registered a protest over the “unprovoked violation of its airspace by a supersonic flying object of Indian origin”, both sides avoided a hostile or escalatory tone.

Six months later, on August 23, three IAF officers were sacked after a court of inquiry held them responsible for deviating from SOPs. Wing Commander Sharma moved the court on March 1 challenging this decision.

The accidental firing of a BrahMos combat missile into Pakistan in March last year affected the relations of the nation with the neighbouring country and led to a loss of Rs 24 crore to the state exchequer, the Union government told the Delhi high court while justifying the dismissal of three IAF (Indian Air Force) officers, including a Wing Commander, for gross negligence.