Monthly Archives: August 2018

Anirudh Gupta
Ferozepur, January 14

A massive search operation was launched by security agencies following the sighting of “drones” at Tendiwala village near border outpost Shameke in this sector last night. Sources claimed that the drones were sighted twice around 8.48 pm yesterday and later around 11 pm in the same area.

They said BSF jawans belonging to the 136 Battalion opened fire at the flying objects to bring them down. Later, a joint search operation by the BSF and the Punjab Police was carried out, which continued till late this evening, but nothing substantial was found.

As per information, around 150 Punjab Police personnel, led by Baljeet Singh Sidhu, SP (Operations), along with BSF jawans searched the entire area along Tendiwala village.

Ferozepur SSP Vivek Sheel Soni also visited the spot and conducted a tour of various villages along the border to take stock of the situation. He said the police had received information regarding the sighting of drone-like objects following which the search was carried out to rule out any misadventure from across the border. “We have asked the villagers to report if they found something suspicious,” he said.

BSF DIG Sandeep Chanan said though some flying objects were seen, it could not be ascertained whether they were drones or something else. He confirmed that the troops fired some rounds towards the objects and the search operation was still on.

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 14

Security agencies don’t have more than a few minutes to intercept drones being frequently used by narco-terror gangs to smuggle drugs or weapons in Punjab.

The two drones recovered from a gang of narcotics smugglers, including an Army jawan, recently were sophisticated DJI Inspire 2 and DJI Matrice quadcopters, which are known for their fast speed (90 kmph) and quiet operation. These drones attain this speed within seconds of their launch.

Rahul Chauhan from Ambala, Naik with Army, was caught along with two Amritsar residents and smugglers Dharminder Singh and Balkar Singh on Friday. The police have arrested four others also, but the alleged kingpin Ajay Pal, is absconding.

The Inspire model, available online for around Rs 3 lakh per piece, is a Chinese manufactured product which is better used by filmmakers in Hollywood and elsewhere due to its excellent video camera and still photography results.

Its use for fetching drugs from across the border by Punjab smugglers has thrown up a new challenge for the security forces. The battery of Inspire drones allows around 27-minute airtime during which these can fly up to 7 km. The Matrice model has an airtime of 35-38 minutes. While DJI Inspire drone can carry a payload of up to 5 kg, the Matrice model can carry 7-9 kg payload.

These drones are fitted with intelligent return software that allows them to return to the base even when the contact with them is lost.

According to police officials, the payload is usually made to hang from the drone using a string. This obviates the need to land the drone for delivering a payload, thus considerably reducing the risk of a crash or seizure.

Sources said one drone sortie carrying 5 kg heroin can fetch anything between Rs 5 crore to Rs 25 crore for smugglers in local and international market, respectively. The police and BSF look forward to acquiring equipment developed by Israel to check such sorties. Till then, interception depends on manual surveillance as drones being low fliers are not caught by radars.

Jaipur, January 14

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said military veterans inspired the government to create the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

“The veterans are the ones who provided inspiration for this,” he told ex-servicemen at an event here. The event was also attended by the first Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and Army Chief Gen MM Naravane. Creating the CDS post was much needed and when he became the Defence Minister and made a suggestion in that regard in 2018, the PM made a declaration to that effect during his Independence Day speech, Rajnath said. — O

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 14

In a major development, India is set to induct the BrahMos missile-equipped Sukhoi 30-MKI fighter jets at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.

The formal induction will be done next week under the re-raised the 222 Squadron — The Tigersharks — of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The Russian-origin Sukhoi’s will be mandated for a maritime role. In lay parlance, the jets can be used for sea strikes using the BrahMos missile, sources said. So far, the IAF had been using the Jaguar for a sea-role and also in the past the MiG-27 was used. The range of the Sukhoi is far greater and is capable of carrying the air-version of the BrahMos which weighs about 2.5 tonnes.

The IAF will have the only air-launched supersonic weapon of its kind in the world that can be fired from an air platform at a target at sea.

The BrahMos has a minimum range of 290 km. The Sukhoi 30 MKI, has a flight radius of some 1,000 km extendable by mid-air refuelling, hence allowing a strike at target far-off at sea.

The IAF’s capability to fire the supersonic cruise missile from the Sukhoi 30-MKI, will allow pilots to stay away from the reach of enemy missiles.

On December 17, the IAF had carried out the third successful firing a BrahMos missile from the Sukhoi-30 MKI, completing the integration of the supersonic missile with the fighter jet.

The test was conducted in ‘user configuration’ meaning it was in a configuration as it would be used by the IAF in a real-time scenario.

New Delhi, January 13

The Aviation Ministry on Monday announced a scheme providing a window up to January 31 for voluntary registration of all drones and their operators, days after top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone attack.

Those who fail to register will face action under the Indian Penal Code and the Aircraft Act.

In a notice, the ministry said, “The presence of such drones as well as drone operators has come to the notice of the government which do not comply with the CAR (civil aviation requirements).”

“In order to facilitate the identification of civil drones and drone operators, a one-time opportunity for voluntary disclosure of such drones and drone operators is being provided… All persons in possession of drones are required to complete the process (of online registration) by January 31, 2020,” it added.

The number of illegal drones in India is likely to be between 50,000 and 60,000, co-chair of a FICCI committee on drones, Ankit Mehta, had said on October 22 last year.

Major General Soleimani, 62, the head of Iran’s elite al-Quds force and architect of its regional security apparatus, was killed when a US military drone fired missiles at his convoy while it was leaving the Baghdad International Airport on January 3.

A senior Indian government official said the attack “precipitated the government to take action to regulate hundreds of non-compliant drones” that are operating in the country.

“What happened at Gatwick airport in December 2018 was already there on our mind,” the official added.

Gatwick airport, Britain’s second-busiest after Heathrow airport, remained closed from December 19-21, 2018, when multiple rogue drones were seen flying over the perimeter fence. During the three-day period, around 1,000 flights had to be cancelled or diverted to prevent any untoward incident.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on August 27, 2018, had issued the CAR to regulate the use of civilian drones in the Indian airspace.

Under these regulations, a process has been prescribed for drone operators to obtain Unique Identification Number (UIN), Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP) and other permissions.

Called the “No Permission-No Take Off” regulation, a drone operator has to use the DGCA’s software programme DigiSky to obtain valid permissions before operating drones in India.

In the notice issued on Monday, the ministry said, “On successful submission of voluntary disclosure of possessing drone, a Drone Acknowledgement Number (DAN) and an Ownership Acknowledgement Number (OAN) will be issued online which will help in validation of operation of drones in India.”

However, the DAN and the OAN do not confer any right to operate drones in India if it does not fulfil the DGCA’s drone regulations, the ministry clarified.

“Further, ownership of drones in India without a valid DAN or OAN shall invite penal action as per applicable laws. This database will be issued to process each case as per the regulations by seeking further information, if required,” the ministry stated.

Smit Shah, Director – Partnerships, Drone Federation of India (DFI), said on Monday,”We believe that such a step taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation will provide an accurate number of existing drones in India.” “This data should ideally become the base for understanding the scale of drone operations in India and for taking further policy decisions. This may enable flying of drones easily in the future while maintaining high standards of safety, security and accountability.” said Shah.

The Drone Federation of India (DFI) is an association of drone companies such as Asteria Aerospace, Quidich Innovation Labs, AutoMicroUAS, Aarav Unmanned Systems and Indrones. PTI

The arrest of drug couriers who used drones as drug mules on the Indo-Pak border near Amritsar is both a cause for concern and satisfaction. The police should be commended for busting the gang. Yet, the operation itself, as well as the sophisticated means used to courier drugs that allowed the smugglers to bypass many security barriers, is worrying. The Punjab Police have recently been quite active in ferreting out criminals dealing in illegal drugs. However, action against the big fish is awaited.

For too long, there has been a tendency to blame Pakistan for the drug trade. The demand for drugs is domestic, and thus while it may be convenient to blame the neighbour, there is a need for a deeper look within too. These drones are being used by Indian smugglers who fly them across the border to fetch the contraband. So, the police need to nab the local smugglers who have caught up with hi-tech drone technology before they turn more lethal using better technology. Efforts should also be made to provide proper treatment and care to drug addicts. Only a multi-pronged approach, along with a concerted campaign by the police to find and apprehend the drug smugglers, will help achieve long-term results.

The misuse of drones has raised security concerns across the world, and the government of India too is seized of the matter. Indeed, after an all-out ban on drones was found impractical, a new policy to license drones came into effect from December 1, 2018. It has been rightly criticised for being too bureaucratic. However, the need for effective control of drones has been driven home time and again. Governments worldwide are struggling with means to govern the proliferation of drones, and thus prevent their misuse. The Punjab Police deserve credit for intercepting the gang, but this is not a local issue. It has serious national ramifications, which the Centre should appreciate.