Why is Indian Airforce Target drone in Trincomalee? Probe launched

• Similar UAV found in 2020 near Talapada estuary  

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya  

A special defence team has been appointed to investigate after an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), believed to be a target drone belonging to the Indian Air Force, was discovered by a group of fishermen in the sea off Trincomalee. The drone was found approximately 35 nautical miles off the coast.   

Air Force Media spokesman Group Captain Eranda Geeganage confirmed that the object is a target drone typically used by defence forces during training exercises. He said that Sri Lanka does not possess any such aircraft.   
The spokesman clarified that the drone posed no threat and contained no explosives. He also noted that a similar type of aircraft had been found in 2020.   

The UAV, weighing 50 kg and measuring 8 feet in length, was retrieved by seven fishermen near the Talapada estuary in August 2020. It had likely been tested at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur.   

At the time, ITR Chandipur director Binay Kumar Das explained that the testing was part of a routine exercise conducted by the Indian Air Force and urged that there was no cause for concern. “It was a scheduled exercise by the Indian Air Force at Chandipur. The remotely piloted target aircraft, called expendable aircraft, is disposed of in the water after use. It’s essentially an empty fiber body, so recovery is not usual,” he said. 

 
The drone in question is a Meggitt BTT-3 Banshee, originally developed by the British in the 1980s for air defence systems training. Constructed mainly from composite materials like Kevlar and glass-reinforced plastic, the Banshee features a tailless delta wing design and was first used by the British Army for training with shoulder-launched missiles such as the Short Blowpipe and Javelin.