We are soon submitting the final report to the government on anti drone technology in India: Rakesh Asthaana

The future course of the modern warfare is treading on the concept of unmanned air vehicle- that is UAV-a swarmed of drones that could potentially go deep into the battle zone without the hint of any loss of human life. As of now, fighters jets or missiles are being deployed to protect the perceived threats and neutralize the incoming missiles. But in the case of threats from clusters of drones or a drone, coming unwarranted towards a military or civilian place, how would one counter? And, how does one detect, target and neutralize threats from UAVs? There is no one single solution and the militaries of the world have prioritized the to deal with such foreseeable situation. To handle such threats, countries and companies are investing in research & developing of what is called- counter-UAV.

Highlighting the elements of anti- drone capabilities, FICCI with the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the chairmanship of DG-BCAS organized the ‘Conference on Countering Rogue Drones’ for finding out best available counter drone solutions and standards to safeguard civil aviation against possible drone attacks in India. Rakesh Asthaana, Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), announced that the Ministry of Civil Aviation is working on finding solutions to counter rogue drones in the country.

Sanjay Jaju, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence said that the drone technology has immense potential and, as per NITI Aayog, the sector is likely to reach $50 billion in the next 15 years.

On the research and development of anti-drone technology in India, Asthaana said, “We have taken the live trials; second pilot has just been over, and we are in the process of finalising our reports which we will be submitting to the ministry soon," added "drones can be used both for the betterment of the society and for killing people as well and destroying assets."

Talking about the complexity of such technology, he added “We don’t know which drone is rogue and which is good. We should have technology to counter it. Whether you go in for commercial or security purposes, the technology has to be such which can prevent the rogue drones in our country."

Calling for indigenisation of drone manufacturing and counter drone solutions, Jaju said that local manufacturing should be done not only to derive economic potential but also to check the internal and external threats faced by the country.

“If we can manufacture world class drones within the country, we can obviously manufacture world class counter drone measures. Otherwise what will happen is dependence on global market will continue for the anti-drone measures as it is for drones currently,” he noted. 

In the light of perceived threats from across the border, the Indian armed forces are looking at the anti drone technology to specifically address these threats. It is the utmost urgency that the country pays enough attention to developing counter-UAV technologies.