General Bipin Rawat paid last visit to Nagpur in November to see prototypes of weaponised drones

Nagpur, Dec 09: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, who died in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu along with 12 others on Wednesday, had paid his last visit to Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra, just less than a month ago.

During his visit to the city on November 15, he saw a demonstration of the prototypes of weaponised drones (hexacopter) and loitering munition made by a company here, where he also spoke about non-contact warfare and its restructuring in Armed forces. He had come in a helicopter at the equipment maker's campus located on Amravati Road.

The equipment was manufactured by the Solar Group of Companies, which includes Solar Industries India Ltd and Economic Explosives Ltd. Rawat spent more than two hours watching the demonstrations and was briefed about the prototypes by the company officials.

During the interaction with the representatives, Gen Rawat had given them suggestions on the technical aspects. He had asked whether drone wings motor, which was in the front part of the wings, could be fitted on the upper portion of the wings.

During the tour, CDS Rawat had also visited the IAF Maintenance Command headquarters in Nagpur. There he was briefed about the role of the Maintenance Command in the maintenance of the wide variety of assets held by the Indian Air Force and associated logistics support.

Rawat was appointed as the 27th Chief of the Army Staff in December 2016. He was appointed as India's first Chief of Defence Staff on December 31, 2019. During his tenure as the Army chief, Gen Rawat had visited Nagpur on January 5, 2019 and attended the annual function of Bhonsla Military School.