According to sources, a tactical Indian Army drone unintentionally entered Pakistani territory after crossing the Line of Control (LoC) from the Rajouri sector in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. It was later retrieved by the Pakistan Army.
The Army drone was conducting a routine surveillance mission at 9:30 am when the incident took place.
There is a possibility of the Indian and Pakistan Armies initiating Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) level discussions to tackle the current situation.
According to officials, the occurrence occurred two days after an Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter aircraft experienced a technical issue that caused an unintended discharge of an “air store” near the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district.
Per officials, the object that was dropped was a training bomb designated for exercises involving targeting and dropping bombs. Upon its release, the practice explosive landed in an unpopulated area, resulting in an explosion and leaving a crater at the impact site near the border of Pakistan, as per their report.
There were no injuries or harm to any property reported. An inquiry was initiated to determine the root of the technical problem that resulted in the accidental release of the air store.
The term “air store” refers to any additional equipment or payload that can be attached to fighter jets for different missions.