Article Posted on : - Feb 17, 2012

An unrelated photo of Searcher Mark II produced by Israel Aircraft Industries.

NEW DELHI (PTI): An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Indian Navy has crashed near Visakhapatnam while on the way back from an exercise.

The crashed aircraft was a 'Searcher MK II UAV' and it was returning to its base when the incident happened Thursday, Navy officials.

UAVs are used by the Navy for surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition and damage assessment during exercises and operational deployments.

"An Israeli-origin UAV of the Navy, which was on a routine mission, crashed into a hill side in Gajuwaka area of the city. There has been no loss of life or property reported," the officials said.

After the incident, the Navy ordered an inquiry to look into the circumstances which lead to the crash.