SHAH: INDIA WILL SOON LAUNCH AN INDIGENOUS COUNTER-DRONE TECHNOLOGY

NEW DELHI: The Defence Research and Development Organisation and other agencies are working on indigenous counter-drone technology, and it will be available soon, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Saturday and added that all gaps in India’s border fencing will be covered by 2022.

The comments came over two weeks after a drone was used to target the Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Jammu with explosives on June 27. The explosives left two personnel injured. Drones have since been repeatedly spotted hovering over military installations in the region.

“Smuggling of drugs, arms, and explosives through tunnels and drones is a major challenge. Today, it is very important for us to deal with these challenges at the earliest. I am confident that we will soon increase our presence at the borders with Swadeshi (made-in-India) anti-drone technology,” Shah said.

The June 27 attack on the IAF station was the first such instance of Pakistan-based terrorists deploying unmanned aerial vehicles to strike at vital installations in India. The National Investigation Agency is investigating the case. There have been several incidents of terrorists using drones in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir to drop arms, ammunition, drugs, and money to fuel terrorism in the region. At least 300 drones have been sighted along the border there with Pakistan since 2019.

HT last week reported several rounds of meetings have been held between various agencies and private players on a technology to detect, identify and mitigate the threat of rogue drones. A procurement plan for it is at an advanced stage.