Border Security Force (BSF) will soon be procuring handheld ‘Anti Drone Guns’ to prevent Pakistani drones from entering Indian Territory, said an official in the Ministry of Home Affairs. A senior official in the ministry said that a Draft Qualitative requirements (QRS) have been forwarded by BSF. They have invited comments from vendors and possible manufacturers to ensure market availability of the subject item.
“These handheld anti-drone guns will be useful for patrolling teams in border areas who sometimes see drones flying but couldn’t do more as it is out of their firing range,” said a senior BSF officer.
“Anti-Drone Gun should be Hand Held, easily transportable and operable in day and night environment. The system should be easily deployable with ease and should be a lightweight UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) countermeasure solution designed for one hand or two hand operations,” he added.
The system should be able to cut off communication between the visually detected UAV and the remote controller by jamming data links to the UAV/RC.
In terms of operational capability, it should be capable of neutralizing the flying object (UAV) or group of UAVs (Swarm attack) from a distance (as specified or better) of at least 2,500 metres.
“The gun should be capable to neutralize the flying object by jamming its radio and GPS links and force landing the UAV at its place of operation within 10 seconds after detection,” the BSF document sent to the Home ministry reads.
This year around 60 drone sightings of unmanned aerial vehicles near Punjab were reported and many more remained unreported. The explosives and small arms were dropped using drones from the Pakistan side on Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab border.
The intelligence agencies have alerted security forces regarding drones capabilities of terror groups across the border and even in Naxal areas. The majority of drones are being used to drop weapons in the Punjab and Jammu sectors.
A senior BSF officer said that last year they have shot down a variety of drones. Some of the drones (hexacopter) can carry much load as the controller sits across the border and achieves the objective without crossing the LoC. The made in China drones are advanced in technology and their memory gets deleted remotely and they can never get anything out of it.
“Entire border can’t be covered under anti-drone devices but handheld anti-drone guns with the patrolling team could help to detect and bring down the drone,” said the BSF officer.
Another BSF officer added that these handheld anti-drone devices will be part of patrolling teams and will be much more effective than presently used immovable anti-drone measures.
