Massive airspace breach by Pakistani drones has triggered serious concerns among Indian security establishment as border guarding troops tracked 191 unmanned air vehicles inside the Indian territory in the first nine months of 2022.
Indian government document suggests that 171 such breaches were recorded by the Border Security Force in Punjab, a route infamous for the cross-border supply of explosives, narcotics, and weapons by militants.
20 drones have entered Indian airspace from the Jammu sector, the region which saw the first drone attack in the country in June 2021.
Out of 191 breaches, Indian troops managed to shoot down only seven drones, indicating massive shortcomings in anti-drone mechanisms presently available with the forces.
Indian armed forces are trying to find the right solution to handle drone threats effectively.
Indian authorities accuse Pakistan of using Chinese-made drones to drop packages consisting of weapons to aide terrorists.
Earlier this year, the Border Security Force launched a procurement process to induct anti-drone guns along the border with Pakistan.
The document accessed by Sputnik shows that the force asked for an easily transportable anti-drone gun that should be able to jam the all-operating GPS and communication system of the UAV.
“The system should be capable to neutralize the flying objects like Copters, Fixed-wing UAVs or Swarm attacks from a distance of 1000 m-2500 m,” the document read.
In June last year, the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group carried out the first-ever drone strike at the Jammu air base. The two drones flew across the international border, barely 14.5km from Jammu airport, and returned to Pakistan after the hit.