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SOURCE: AFI

On April 10, 2025, an Indian Air Force (IAF) Heron-TP unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed near the Jamnagar airbase in Gujarat, approximately 20 km from the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan. The incident, occurring during a routine landing attempt, has triggered a wave of speculative claims on YouTube channels allegedly backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

These channels assert that the crash resulted from an electronic warfare (EW) attack by the Pakistan Army, capitalizing on the Indian Army’s silence to fuel disinformation. While no official statement has confirmed the cause, preliminary evidence suggests a technical failure rather than an EW attack, which would likely have caused the UAV to crash closer to the border if true.

The Heron-TP, a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), is a cornerstone of India’s surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. With a 26-meter wingspan, 450-kg payload, and 30-hour endurance, it supports the IAF and Army in monitoring the LoC, LAC, and maritime zones. The crashed UAV, part of a squadron based at Jamnagar, was returning from a routine mission when it went down near the airbase runway around 4:30 pm IST, according to local reports.

Eyewitnesses cited by The Times of India described the UAV spiraling before impact, with debris scattered over a 200-meter radius but no casualties reported. The IAF promptly cordoned off the site, and a Court of Inquiry was ordered to investigate, focusing on technical malfunctions, human error, or external factors. Jamnagar’s proximity to the LoC—though 20 km is a significant distance for UAV operations—has fueled Pakistani narratives, despite the crash’s location suggesting a landing-phase issue.

Within hours, YouTube channels linked to Pakistan’s propaganda ecosystem began claiming the crash was a deliberate takedown by the Pakistan Army’s EW assets. Posts on X amplified these claims, alleging that systems like the Chinese-made CH-901 or Russian Krasukha-4 jammed the Heron-TP’s GPS and control links, causing it to lose navigation and crash. Some channels cited the Pakistan Army’s 2023 acquisition of EW platforms as evidence of growing capability to disrupt Indian UAVs along the LoC.

These claims, however, lack substantiation. An EW attack would typically disrupt a UAV’s command link mid-flight, causing it to crash closer to the point of interference—likely near the LoC rather than 20 km away during landing. The Heron-TP’s crash trajectory, occurring near Jamnagar’s runway, aligns more with known UAV failure modes, such as autopilot errors, hydraulic issues, or ground control mishaps, as seen in prior incidents globally. For instance, a 2019 U.S. MQ-9 Reaper crash in Yemen was traced to landing gear failure, not EW.

Several factors undermine the Pakistani narrative:

  1. Crash Location: The Heron-TP went down near Jamnagar airbase, far from the LoC. An EW attack strong enough to disrupt a UAV 20 km away would require sophisticated, high-power systems unlikely to be deployed undetected near India’s heavily monitored border.
  2. Heron-TP Resilience: The Heron-TP features encrypted datalinks and anti-jamming measures, including frequency-hopping and redundant navigation (INS/GPS). Overcoming these would demand advanced EW capabilities, which Pakistan’s systems, like the CH-901, primarily designed for short-range drone defense, may not match.
  3. Operational Context: The UAV was landing, a phase prone to technical glitches. Global data shows 60% of UAV crashes occur during take-off or landing, often due to sensor calibration or ground station errors, not external interference.
  4. Lack of Corroboration: No radar anomalies, signal disruptions, or LoC activity were reported on April 10, unlike during confirmed EW incidents, such as Iran’s alleged jamming of U.S. drones in 2011. Pakistan’s claims rely solely on unverified YouTube narratives, lacking official military backing.

The IAF and Army’s decision to withhold an official statement has inadvertently amplified Pakistani propaganda. Standard protocol after a crash involves securing the site, analyzing flight data, and issuing a preliminary finding, as seen in the 2023 MiG-21 crash in Rajasthan, where the IAF confirmed a technical fault within days. The absence of a similar clarification has allowed disinformation to flourish, with Pakistani channels framing the crash as a tactical victory.

Sources within the Ministry of Defence, cited by The Hindu, indicate the Court of Inquiry is examining black-box data, focusing on the UAV’s autopilot and landing systems. A retired IAF officer, speaking anonymously to India Today, suggested a “software glitch or runway alignment error” as likely causes, noting that EW attacks typically disrupt entire squadrons, not single units. The IAF’s reticence may stem from operational security, avoiding disclosure of Heron-TP capabilities or vulnerabilities near the LoC.

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