Captured YIHA III drone at Vijay Diwas celebration in Delhi (Photo: X)
New Delhi: The Indian Army on Monday displayed a captured Turkish–Pakistani loitering munition, the YIHA-III drone, at the residence of Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi during the 54th Vijay Diwas ‘At Home’ celebrations, commemorating India’s victory over Pakistan and the liberation of Bangladesh.
During Operation Sindoor, Indian Army Air Defence (AAD) units successfully intercepted and shot down multiple Pakistani drones. One of these downed drones was later reconstructed and showcased at the event.
The YIHA-III has been jointly developed by Turkey’s Baykar and Pakistan’s National Aerospace Science & Technology Park (NASTP). Categorised as a kamikaze or loitering munition, the unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) is designed for asymmetric warfare, enabling it to loiter over a target area before diving to strike.
An officer from the Army Cyber Group, while sharing details of the recovered drone, said it was shot down on May 10, just minutes after it took off from Lahore.
“The drone was carrying a payload of 10 kilograms of explosives. Our forensic analysis revealed mission data confirming that it took off from Lahore International Airport,” the officer said.
According to the Army, the UCAV was headed towards Hoshiarpur but was neutralised near Amritsar immediately after it entered Indian airspace.
Skynet-Intel: Indigenous Forensics Drone Tool
Following the capture of the YIHA-III, the Indian Army deployed Skynet-Intel, an indigenous drone forensics tool, to extract and analyse data from the UCAV. The system enabled commanders to take swift operational decisions based on real-time intelligence.
Developed under the iDEX DISC-9 programme in collaboration with the Army Cyber Group and Indian industry partners, Skynet-Intel is capable of recovering telemetry data, GPS tracks, mission logs, RF signatures, sensor files, and even encrypted or partially damaged data.
“Its analytics engine reconstructs flight paths, manoeuvre patterns, and payload activity, providing a detailed mission profile. Designed for secure, air-gapped Army networks, it features intuitive dashboards, rapid reporting, and a modular architecture scalable for emerging UAV technologies,” an official said.
The officer further added that the system can extract data even from severely damaged components using a chip-off extraction technique.
About the YIHA-III Drone
Designed as a precision-strike loitering munition, the YIHA-III UCAV is intended to detect, track, and engage targets such as air defence systems, radar installations, and forward operating bases.
The drone is capable of remaining airborne for extended durations, allowing operators to identify optimal targets before executing a terminal dive.
Read also: Pakistan’s Last Refuge -- Nuclear rhetoric after military defeat
Its lightweight, highly manoeuvrable airframe supports coordinated and swarm-based attacks, aimed at overwhelming enemy defensive systems.
