Fact-Check: Was the Indian Navy MQ-9B Sea Guardian drone crashed mysteriously? Discover the facts here

News has recently emerged on X alleging that an Indian Navy MQ-9B Sea Guardian drone has mysteriously crashed into the sea and a Chinese spy ship has been found nearby.

A pak-based handle operating under the name of PSYWAR Bureau, better known for spreading misinformation against India, wrote: “An #Indian Navy MQ-9B Sea Guardian HALE UAV mysteriously crashed into the sea.
Coincidentally, a #Chinese spy ship was nearby. Could it have launched a high-level electronic warfare attack?”

Fact-Check

The DFRAC team fact-checked the above-shared claim by conducting a keyword search on Google in this regard. In the probe, the DFRAC team found that multiple media outlets such as Hindustan Times, Jagran English, and The New Indian Express published reports in this regard. As per reports, an MQ-9B SeaGuardian remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), leased by the Indian Navy from the US, ditched into the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday, Sept 18 following a technical glitch during a surveillance mission, the navy said.

Seemingly, the “Chinese spy ship” did not appear in the media reports.

Conclusion

It is evident from DFRAC’s Fact-check that the above-shared claim regarding the MQ-9B Sea Guardian drone is completely misleading. It crashed due to a technical malfunction & Chinese spy ship has not been found in any media report.

Analysis: Misleading