Terrorists hitech warfare with drones

The drone is a flying robot that can click photos and also drop bombs. The major advantage of employing drones is that it eliminates casualties of combat troops and pilots as it is an unmanned aerial vehicle.

Hyderabad: A major security threat to the Indian security forces and the Indian state as a whole has emerged in the form of a drone from the skies of Jammu, as the terrorists for the first time attacked an Indian Air force station using drones. This could have serious implications on our security apparatus in Jammu and Kashmir and also mainland India. If terrorists manage to infiltrate and target high Military value installation of Indian forces or target civilians, the repercussions would be huge.

This could change the anti-terror operations of the Indian army and further escalate and push India to cross the LoC to take out the targets. The latest new development can push already fragile relations between India and Pakistan into a deadly phase. The present development using drones to target military installations, security forces or civilians will have a devastating impact on the overall security in Jammu and Kashmir and the coming days will be a challenge for the security forces to deal with this new security threat.

What is a Drone?

The drone is a flying robot that can click photos and also drop bombs. The major advantage of employing drones is that it eliminates casualties of combat troops and pilots as it is an unmanned aerial vehicle. The US military was the first to demonstrate drone capabilities in the Gulf war of 1991.

Major drone attacks in recent times

• In 1994, Aum Shinrikyo attempted to use a remote-controlled helicopter to spray sarin gas, but tests failed as the helicopter crashed.
• Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, was the first non-state actor known to deploy military drones, launching a Mirsad 1 military-grade surveillance drone into Israeli airspace in November 2004. In 2006, the militant group launched armed Ababil drones into Israeli airspace that were subsequently shot down.
• The first recorded successful attack using drones by a VNSA was in mid-2013 when Hezbollah reportedly dropped two small explosive devices on Syrian rebel strongholds using a drone supplied by Iran.
• Hamas has been developing drones since at least 2013 when a plot to attack Israel with explosives-laden UAVs was disrupted by Palestinian Authority security forces. Hamas claims to have manufactured three types of drones themselves.
• In 2013, a planned attack by Al-Qaeda in Pakistan using multiple drones was stopped by local law enforcement.
• In 2014, the Islamic State began using commercial off-the-shelf and homemade aerial drones at scale during military operations in Iraq and Syria.
• In September 2014, Hezbollah conducted its first deadly strike along the border between Lebanon and Syria.
• In 2015, Kurdish fighters in Syria shot down multiple small commercial drones laden with explosives, reportedly belonging to ISIL.
• In August 2016, Hezbollah used an armed quadcopter in Aleppo, Syria, and conducted strikes against ISIS in Syria in August 2017.
• In August 2018, two GPS–guided drones, laden with explosives, were used in a failed attempt to assassinate Venezuelan President Maduro.
• In January 2018, a swarm of 13 homemade aerial drones attacked two Russian military bases in Syria.
• On 14 September 2019, drones were used to attack the state-owned Saudi Aramco oil processing facilities at Abqaiq (Biqayq in Arabic) and Khurais in eastern Saudi Arabia It destroyed nearly 50 per cent of the country's global supply of crude.
• June 7, 2021, Yemen's Houthi rebels said they launched a bomb-laden drone attack on the King Khalid Air Base in Saudi Arabia's southern city of Khamis Mushait.

Drone attack threat from Pakistan

• In 2019, India reported 167 drone sightings.
• In 2020, there were 77 drone sightings along the border.
• Punjab Police seized drone-dropped arms in 2019.
• In June 2020, seizures made in Punjab and Jammu.
• In January 2021, J&K police held 2 receiving drone delivery of arms.

Why it is difficult to detect drones

• Surveillance and radar systems are meant for larger objects.
• Drones could be as small as 2 feet in size.
• Laser-based Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs) are being developed.
• DRDO has made two DEWs but mass production is yet to begin.