DRONES – DEFENCE
News: Ahead of Modi’s visit, DAC clears procurement of armed UAVs from the US
What is in the news?
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Recently, the Defence
Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the procurement of armed Predator Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from General Atomics.
What is Unmanned Aerial Vehicle:
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An unmanned aerial
vehicle, commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot,
crew or passengers on board.
Types:
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Fixed-wing:
They are the fastest military UAV currently deployed worldwide. These drones
are designed to take off and land like airplanes, using wings instead of rotors
for lift.
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Single-rotor:
They look similar to helicopters and are more durable than other drones. While
they can be more efficient than different types of drones, they require more
maintenance.
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Multi-rotor:
These drones are the most straightforward option that provides the best control
over positioning and framing. Because of this, they are the best choice for
surveillance and reconnaissance.
Why are drones considered a threat to national
security?
1. Easy availability:
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Drones can be used for
espionage, terror sponsoring, and destruction of critical infrastructure.
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The easy availability of
advanced technology makes this threat particularly concerning.
2. Operational flexibility:
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Drones are unmanned,
which eliminates the potential threat to people on the operating side.
3. Illicit purposes:
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The drones can be used
for illicit purposes like drug trafficking and transporting weapons from one
place to another.
4. Hard to defend:
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The drones were too small
for a fighter pilot or a tank gunner to pursue.
5. Long border:
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Borders pose a challenge
in terms of avoiding drone attacks, which can carry out harmful activities such
as smuggling of arms and destruction of security apparatus.
6. Issues in identification:
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Even if a drone is detected
and incapacitated, there is no way to identify who sent it.
7. Privacy Violation:
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Unauthorized drone
flights can infringe on the privacy of individuals, public figures, and
government officials, potentially leading to social unrest or misuse of collected
information.
8. Terrorist activities:
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Drones can be exploited
by terrorist organizations to carry out attacks, transport explosives, or
conduct reconnaissance on potential targets, posing a significant security
risk.
Government measures to prevent the threats posed by
the drones:
1. National Counter Rogue Drones Guidelines
2019:
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For places of critical
national importance, the rules called for the deployment of a model that
consists of primary and passive detection means like radar, radio frequency
(RF) detectors, electro-optical and infrared cameras.
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In addition to this, soft
kill and hard kill measures like RF jammers, GPS spoofers, lasers, and drone
catching nets were also suggested to be installed.
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A steering committee
chaired by a representative of the Indian Air Force and comprising
representatives from NSG, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), etc. will be
formed to ensure a coordinated approach.
2. Counter drone system:
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It was established by the
DRDO.
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These counter drone
systems can detect, track and identify
airborne drones using multiple sensors.
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They can transfer the
information to associated systems and enable counter techniques to deny them
the intended operation (soft kill) and/or destroy them (hard kill).
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The detection of drones
is done with the help of radars.
3. D4 drone system:
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The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) developed this
D-4 drone system that could help the Army swiftly detect and destroy drones
that pose a security threat to the country.
4. Drone rules, 2021:
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The yellow zone was fixed as 12 km from the airport perimeter.
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No
flight permission is required up to 400 feet in green zones and up to 200 feet
in the area between 8 and 12 km from the airport perimeter.
5. Drone Airspace Map:
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Around
10% of the airspace was notified as yellow and red zones,
which means some restrictions on the use of drones in these areas.
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These areas include
national border areas, airports, army bases.
WAY FORWARD:
1. Investing in Anti-Drone Technology:
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The Indian government
must take the lead in investing in anti-drone technology.
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This includes allocating
a budget to incentivize stakeholders to focus on anti-drone technology
development.
2. International Cooperation:
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Collaborate with other
countries to share best practices, intelligence, and technologies related to
drone security, as drone threats are not limited to national borders.
3. Independent authority:
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An independent authority
can be created under the civil aviation ministry.
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This authority can oversee
the implementation of the drone rules and regulations.
4. Ensure effective implementation:
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The government should
ensure the effective implementation of the drone rules.
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No
flying zones and effective airspace mapping
can be effectively implemented.