Drone terror attack on Jammu base: dangerous new turning point

The recent drone strikes at the Indian Air Force Station in Jammu and subsequent sightings of drones close to military stations have set alarm bells ringing.

• A drone attack was conducted on the Jammu Air Force Station on June 27.
• It was the first such instance of suspected Pakistan-based terrorists deploying unmanned aerial vehicles to strike at vital installations.

What is a drone?

• A drone refers to an unpiloted aircraft or spacecraft.
• A drone is also called an “unmanned aerial vehicle” or UAV. So, simply put, a drone is a flying robot.

• The Ministry of Civil Aviation recently notified the Unmanned Aircraft System Rules 2021 that govern the operation of drones and similar systems in India.
• Weight is the primary basis by which the rules classify drones vis-a-vis the specific rules governing their operation.
• Permission required from: Director General of Civil Aviation.

Several checks and bans are built into the rules to prevent drones posing a security threat. For example-

• Return to home option: All drones have to mandatorily contain autonomous flight termination system or return to home (RTH) option.
• Geo-fencing system: All drones should also come with geo-fencing mechanism.
  • Geo-fencing systems provide a means for restricting the movement of a drone for a real-world geographic location using the global positioning system (GPS) or radio frequency identification.
• No-permission-no takeoff: Further, all drones, except Nano models, will have to have a tamper-proof 'No Permission–No Takeoff (NPNT) mechanism.
• No-fly areas: There are also no-fly areas for drones that include airports, strategic locations, and the LoC with Pakistan and LAC with China, etc.

Positive side

• UAVs have myriad applications—from delivering pizzas, shooting films, inspecting pipelines and power lines to spraying crops and helping cartographers.
• UAVs have a wide variety of law enforcement application, including mapping crime scenes, providing aerial images, and 3D mapping of crash scenes.

Negative side

• But like most technologies, UAVs are also double-edged swords, finding use as powerful weapons and force multipliers for the armed forces.
• The military UAV umbrella includes everything from aero-models and decoys to reconnaissance and armed drones; some provide commanders with real-time battlefield data to direct fire, while others can carry out precision strikes on targets miles away using satellite guidance.
• In fact, the latter are slowly taking over a range of dangerous missions that were flown by combat pilots earlier.

• First UAVs was used in World War II by
• Initially used as target drones (for training anti-aircraft gunners)
• Today, they have become the indispensable robotic air warriors.
• First modern UCAV appeared in the skies over the Golan Heights in 1973 during the Arab-Israeli war.

• Evade detection: Drones fly low, they escape detection by radars and interjection by air defence systems.
• Lack of effective policy: No universal policy to deal with rogue drones in the country.
• Underdeveloped capabilities: Indian drone and anti-drone capability is still work in progress.

• Acts of terrorism in India have been dominated by AK 47-wielding terrorists, fedayeen human bombs, and planting of IED. However, the scenario is changing.
• Safety for terrorists: Now, use of drones provides terrorists with maximum safety.
• Cheaper deal: Advances in technology have made the cost so low that it is cheaper than an AK-47.
• Easily available
• Can be easily modified for different purposes

• Drone detection system.
• High-tech interception, strict regulation a must.
• UAV defences should be augmented with acquisition of detection technologies.
• The electronic warfare (EW) capabilities of the armed forces should be enhanced and these should be equipped with kinetic and directed energy kill systems on priority.

The Jammu attack is a wake-up call for India to take stock of its limited UAV inventory. Though the drone used in the Jammu Air Force Station attack was a relatively less sophisticated one, but in future more potent drones with greater reach can be used. India needs to prepare itself for such attacks in future