Sansad TV: The Defenders- Drones In Defence Sector | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Introduction

• Although drones are commonly utilized for military or policing purposes, they can also be used for a variety of other tasks. For example, Terraview, a startup, employs drones with advanced image processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality to enhance the productivity of vineyards in agriculture. Drones can also be utilized to measure the quantity of grain piled up after a harvest.
• Tata Steel has effectively utilized drones to measure mining output. In certain circumstances, such as when using explosives in deep mines or disarming suspected bombs, it is safer to employ drones for explosive detection and defusing. Furthermore, drones are employed for wildlife protection and survey, as well as poaching detection in African jungles.

How drones became a tool of terror?

• In February 2021, the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) published a report titled "The Role of Drones in Future Terrorist Attacks," in which they stated that the Islamic State was the first to successfully use drones for terrorism.
• The threat was deemed so severe that in 2019, Julian King, the European Union Security Commissioner, cautioned that terror groups could target European cities using drones. The frequent sighting of drones near the India-Pakistan border and the Line of Control (LoC) has been a cause for concern, with some of them carrying weapons to the Indian side.
• In June 2020, a drone-dropped arms consignment was seized in Punjab's Gurdaspur, and in the same month, the Border Security Force (BSF) shot down a drone in the Hira Nagar sector of Jammu, recovering US-made M4 rifles. In January 2021, the Jammu and Kashmir Police apprehended two individuals who were picking up a drone-dropped arms consignment.

Difficulty in Preventing Drone Terror Attacks:

• The challenge of preventing drone terror attacks lies in the limitations of the surveillance technology currently in use, which is primarily designed to track larger objects like planes and missiles.
• Countering drone attacks requires jamming or shooting down the drone, or using laser-based Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs). In India, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed two anti-drone DEW systems.

Methods to Prevent Drone Attacks:

• Locating small drones and their operators is a challenging task. To counter this threat, drone detection technology and subsequent countermeasures need to be deployed. Drone detection can be done through RF-based or conventional radars tuned to detect drones, or electro-optic payloads that use thermal imaging.
• Once identified, the drone can be targeted with a kinetic energy weapon or jammed, or its GPS can be jammed to confuse it. Missile systems like Israel’s Iron Dome can act within seconds, but it will take time to develop the necessary capabilities for detecting and taking action against drone attacks.

Security threats posed by drones and the way forward

• National Security Issues: Drones pose a serious threat to national security as they can be remotely operated to strike any target, raising serious security issues.
• Terrorism: Drones have been used by terrorist organizations like ISIS in Syria and Iraq to hit their targets, which is a major concern for security agencies.
• Potential weapons of mass destruction: Non-state actors possessing combat drones is a major concern as they could potentially be used to deliver weapons of mass destruction.
• Aviation safety: Drones flying too close to commercial aircraft have called for regulations to ensure aviation safety.
• Privacy: Paparazzi have used drones to breach individuals' privacy, which is a cause for concern.
• Cross-border smuggling: Drones have been used to smuggle arms, ammunition, and drugs into Indian territory, which cannot be detected by any radar system.

Way forward

• Security agencies need to develop more modern anti-drone weapons such as 'sky fence' and 'drone gun' to counter terror or similar sabotage bids by drones. Some countries have been testing RF jammer guns or 'flying nets' attached to legal drones to capture rogue UAVs. The solution to the emerging threat of rogue drones is not over-regulation, but smart regulation that balances the evolving drone sector with emerging security concerns.
• Investing in cutting-edge technologies for countering drones and indigenous R&D, with the support of government grants besides private investments, is essential. The 'National Counter Rogue Drone Guidelines' is a step in the right direction, outlining procedural means of prevention, deterrence, and denial, and active means of detection, interruption, and destruction. This must be coupled with a 'Counter Rogue Drone Deployment Plan' based on vulnerability analysis.