The technicians had chosen the last hours of Sunday morning due to weather conditions and other factors that facilitated the tests.
But something went wrong and
a drone almost six meters long and weighing half a ton
fell from more than 30 meters high and crashed into the side of a runway at the
La Plata aerodrome.
It was one of the 10 pieces of equipment that the Ministry of Security of the Province bought from a Chinese company for
patrol tasks in rural areas.
The acquisition –for more than seven million dollars, according to the public certification carried out by the agency last year- is intended to optimize surveillance in large areas of countryside in the interior of Buenos Aires.
According to official sources explained to
Clarín
, the eastern company JOUAV was in charge of supplying these modern unmanned aircraft, like those seen in the spy series on streaming platforms.
They offer an “extra-long” flight time
,
high payload capacity, and can develop speeds of
more than 100 kilometers per hour.
They can be distanced up to 200 kilometers from the "base" or its radio control link.
They are part of the logistical innovations that Minister Sergio Berni promised to the representatives of the rural entities that demanded
greater measures to guarantee the security of the properties
in the heart of the provincial territory.
But, in one of the first tests, one of the brand new CW-100 – that is the technical name –
collapsed.
“The Province has an extension of 307 thousand square kilometers.
It is equivalent to the Iberian Peninsula, to put a parameter.
There is no way to patrol all that space with trucks,
even though there is political will and determination”, was one of the arguments for the purchase of the Chinese drones.
The provincial government had already carried out some experiences with this type of air navigation systems.
It was in Operative Sol, but they were smaller devices, no more than 1.4 meters.
With them, rakes were carried out on
beaches and parks on the Buenos Aires coast.
Within the budget for the acquisition of this state-of-the-art technology (unique in the country, according to what they say close to Minister Berni) included training and fine-tuning in Argentina.
The devices arrived unarmed and
experts from the Chinese company
arrived in La Plata to get the aircraft ready.
The La Plata airport –located in the southeast area, at 7 and 613- is in charge of the Provincial Directorate of Air Navigation and Airport Planning.
He decided
to give a hangar to the Ministry of Security
to locate the 10 boxes, type containers, in which the drones arrived.
They have been in that place for three weeks, just like the
four experts
that the firm sent to put them together and put them to work.
On Sunday, a team of engineers from the company and officers from Buenos Aires observed the movements of the huge drone that was maneuvered from the mainland.
Until this noon, there was no official information on
what was the malfunction or the reason that led to the fall.
The incident caused no injuries or injuries.
But the device was destroyed.
“It is no longer useful”,
as they were able to hear as an evaluation made by the company.
“The government does not lose money from this episode.
The contract includes the delivery of 10 armed, equipped and operational devices.
While this was going on they dropped one.
The Province bought 10 and will pay for 10.
They must replace it from the company that won the certificate”, was the official explanation.
La Plata (Correspondent)
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