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The indigenously-made technical gadget has been pressed into action at this front recently as part of the below-the-earth tunnel detection exercise carried out by the force to ensure no terrorist is able to sneak into Indian territory and conduct strikes in Jammu and Kashmir or any other location of the country. These structures have also been used to smuggle narcotics, arms and ammunition.

The BSF has unearthed at least five under-ground tunnels in the about 192 km of the Jammu front (of the India-Pakistan IB) in the last three years.

According to official data, two such cross-border tunnels were detected in 2020 and 2021 each, while one was found last year and all of them were detected in the Indreshwar Nagar sector of Jammu.

“The force has procured a smart technical tool to counter the menace of under-ground tunnels that have been reported regularly along the Jammu region of the India-Pakistan IB. More than one drone-mounted ground penetration radars have been deployed in the region to check these clandestine structures used by terrorists to infiltrate into India from Pakistan,” a senior BSF officer told.

Officials working on the ground said the radars being currently deployed have been developed by an Indian manufacturer and they work by emitting strong radio waves to check for the presence of tunnels under the ground and to map their stretch.

While the specific details of the radars cannot be disclosed, the new tools have been added to the BSF surveillance paraphernalia for assisting ground troops undertaking anti-tunnelling exercise.

Its efficacy is under study as of now, the officials said.

The radars are mounted on the drones in order to give them better access to such terrain along this front, which is difficult for the ground teams to reach, they said.

Usually the surveillance for hidden tunnels is undertaken in the range of about 400 metres from the border fence.

The anti-tunnelling surveillance teams of the BSF remotely control the drone when they are out to comb a specific area on the front and they backup the ‘flying radar’ with their traditional system of checking for tunnels with the help of hand-held deep search and mine detection tools, they said.

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The BSF has initiated steps such as establishing a special centre to train personnel in tackling the aerial threat, implementing operational protocols and upgrading technical capability. However, the high frequency of drone activity despite increased surveillance makes it obvious that the smugglers remain undeterred. The troops need cutting-edge technology to deal with the menace. Ahead of Independence Day this year, a counter-drone system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation had been installed near the Red Fort area. It can reportedly detect and deactivate drones within a radius of 4 km. Those involved in defence R&D must factor in the ever-improving capabilities of drones being used by anti-national elements. The easy access to these UAVs is another cause for concern.

The attack on the Jammu Air Force Station in June 2021, when low-flying drones had dropped improvised explosive devices, was a wakeup call for India’s security establishment. The possibility of drones being deployed on a major scale for cross-LoC terror strikes cannot be ruled out. The Russia-Ukraine war has seen the use of reconnaissance and strike drones. The latter include exploding drones and those that fly for 3-10 km and hit targets. In the worst-case scenario, the ISI and its terror assets can up the ante with these lethal UAVs. India’s armed forces need to be well equipped to deal with any such eventuality.

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The BSF director general said the force has shot down a total of 7 drones over the last six months (December 2021-May 2022) and has detected three underground tunnels along the Pakistan border between January, 2021 to May, 2022.

Singh was speaking during an investiture ceremony and the annual ‘Rustamji Memorial Lecture’ of the border force.

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On the other side of the International Border (IB) in Punjab, the ISI has made the drone centres operational with the help of smugglers and terrorists. Sources in the Border Security Force (BSF) stated they have received intelligence that heightened drone activity is being noticed at several Pakistani border outposts across the IB from Ferozepur and Amritsar.

“Pakistan is using ‘dummy drones’ for weapons, drugs and explosives. Across the border near Khemkaran, smugglers fly drones with the help of Pak Rangers,” the sources said.

Terrorists and smugglers are loading explosives, arms and ammunitions in these dummy drones to evade Indian security forces and transport the contraband into border states like Punjab. They are increasingly using GPS-control drones for their nefarious operations.

In light of this threat, the BSF has sounded an alert regarding drone activity from the Pakistani side of the fence. It is also installing anti-drone systems at specific, sensitive points on the Punjab border. ‘Drone hunting teams’ have been deployed to shoot down enemy UAVs.

According to sources, 53 drone incursions were noticed on the border so far this year. Security forces shot down these Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on nine occasions and recovered explosives and drugs from them.

The BSF has reportedly seized about 1,150 kg of drugs at the Punjab border in the last three years. Between January and April this year, 150 kg narcotics, including a massive haul of heroin, was intercepted by the BSF.

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These handheld anti-drone guns will be useful for patrolling teams in border areas who sometimes see drones flying but could not do more as it was out of their firing range. In 2022 alone so far, around 60 drone sightings of unmanned aerial vehicles near Punjab were reported and many more remained unreported.

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 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) countermeasure solution designed for one hand or two hand operations.

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.

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The notification comes days after the ministry of civil aviation issued the drone certification scheme on January 25 to stipulate minimum safety and quality requirements to boost indigenous manufacturing. The certification scheme will help in simpler, faster and transparent type-certification of drones.

Since August last year, the government has issued liberalised drone rules, a drone airspace map, extended the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to drone manufacturing and introduced a single-window DigitalSky platform to help the drone manufacturing industry grow.

According to the government last year, the domestic drone manufacturing industry is expected to grow from a combined turnover of about ₹80 crore to ₹900 crore in three years.

On September 16 last year, civil aviation minister JyotiradityaScindia said the combined turnover of the drone sector – hardware, software and service delivery – was expected to grow to about ₹ 12,000-15,000 by 2026. The government says India has the potential to become a global drone hub by 2030.

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CSL general manager A Sivakumar signed the delivery and protocol documents with Kumal Mazumdar, DIG of BSF.

The three FBOPs with 46-m length are built for the water wing of the BSF. These vessels are designed in house by CSL and classed by Indian Register of Shipping.

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The BSF said that force’s Creek Crocodile Commando teams were involved in a search operation in the area to look for the intruders.

The Force officials said that the inclement weather, extreme marshy area, mangroves and tidal waters are making task of the troops challenging.

The arrest of these Pakistani fishermen came after the search operation was in progress in the areas following the seizure of 11 Pakistani fishermen boats near around the Harami Nala.

On February 9, during late afternoon, intrusion of Pakistani fishing boats and fishermen was reported.

DIG BSF Bhuj immediately launched a massive search operation in the area spread over almost 300 sq km while the BSF IG Gujarat Frontier GS Malik reached Kutch from Gandhinagar and was personally monitoring the massive search operation.

BSF’s three groups of commandos were air dropped by Air Force helicopter from three different directions; commandos have been closing in where the Pakistanis intruders might hide.

The officials also said that after the arrest of six Pakistani fishermen, search operation has been continued as they apprehend that more intruders likely to be there.

Till the entire area is properly scanned, the search operation will continue, officials added.

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Speaking on the same, Ajai Singh, Inspector General, BSF North Bengal Frontier, told ANI, “Under the Low-Cost Technology Solution (LCTS) project, we have already started replacing ‘Anti Cut-Anti Climb’ fencing with the existing fencing along the 110 km unfenced portion of the border with Bangladesh in North Bengal. We have already covered 20 km and more will be covered shortly”.

Further outlining the efficiency of the fencing, he said that it cannot be cut easily and one cannot climb over it. “It has a longer life and is economically better which provides better security. This will make our forces more confident. It will cover the unfenced area of the borders as well”, he added.

Meanwhile, India shares a total of 4,096 km border area with Bangladesh out of which West Bengal alone shares 2,216 km. While the North Bengal frontier shares 950 km of the border, out of it 110 km is still unfenced. Apart from the Indo-Bangladesh border, attempts are also being made to replace the old fencing with the latest fencing at the India-Pakistan border as well. Earlier in 2019, two pilot projects covering 71 km on the India-Pakistan border (10 km) and India-Bangladesh border (61 km) were initiated under the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS).

In view of illegal activities and infiltration, the North Bengal frontier of the Border Security Force has been drawing up plans for keeping up vigilance along the India-Bangladesh border by installing anti-climb and anti-cut wires fencing and other gadgets to prevent any kind any illegal movements.

Speaking on the same, IG NB frontier of the BSF told media on Tuesday that an amount of Rs 18 crores has been sanctioned by the central government for installations of equipment which will help in covering an unfenced area of the India-Bangladesh border in North Bengal and necessary work has also been initiated in the regard. Apart from that, equipment like night vision cameras, infrared cameras, variants of the CCTV cameras with high mast light towers among others will be installed in the border regions.

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