UAV comes down in Vavuniya
[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 09:35 GMT]
An unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) used by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) for surveillance and reconnaissance missions crashed down colliding against the television antenna in a private house Tuesday morning at about 10.15 in Poonthodam Maharambaikulam, in Vauniya.
The aircraft, N226LK, named "Superstar" with GPS support, was launched from the Vanni SLAF airbase in Vavuniya Tuesday 10 a.m crashed down in Maharambakulam 4 km northeast, losing remote navigation from its head quarters. Having struck the antenna the aircraft veered and fell outside the private house. People of Maharambakulam flocked to see the fallen UAV. On information given to Vavuniya police by the Village officer, the aircraft was recovered by the SLAF and Special Task Force troopers of the Police, said witnesses. In an earlier incident, on October 19, 2005, a similar unmanned aircraft had crashed down in Karrapukuthi Vingnanakulam in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) territory. The SLAF used up to half a dozen Israeli built drones extensively during major military offensives in the Vanni region in the late ninties. Almost all were lost either through LTTE ground fire or accidents.
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