After Saudi Attacks, India Developing Anti-Drone Technology To Counter Drone Menace

Unmanned aerial vehicles have become a threat for the entire world and this threat was revived yet again when ‘unknown’ drones bombed Saudi Aramco facilities despite the presence of highly efficient air defence systems.

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Drone attacks have become a concern for India too especially after alleged Pakistani drones dropped arms and ammunition in the state of Punjab. India has around 6 lakh rogue and unregulated drones and hence India is looking to fight the drone menace.

Indian Agencies Working On Anti- Drones Techniques

The Indian agencies which are already on heightened alert due to escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan are now looking to devise ways to counter drone attacks. The agencies are working on developing anti-drone techniques like sky fence, drone gun, ATHENA and other techniques to foil bids of drone attacks.

India will also soon be acquiring S-400 surface to air missile defence systems from Russia after which India’s defence against air attacks will be enhanced manifold. India went ahead and signed a deal for the procurement of S-400 air defence system from Russia despite strong objections from the US.

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The recent attacks on Saudi Aramco came as a setback to the entire world especially the nations which import oil from Saudi Arabia. India too is one of the largest importers of oil from Saudi Arabia and has struggled to maintain enough supply of oil after Saudi Aramco was hit and its production fell significantly.

Type Of Drones

There are essentially three general types of drone threats.  The first threat type comes from commercial drones, mainly Chinese units that can be easily modified by adding explosives as the payload.

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The second type of drone is a home built which have internal combustion engines that can be larger than the Chinese electric commercial drones and can fly farther.  Motors for these drones are purchased in Europe and China, and most of the electronics come from China.

The engine, fuel tank and fuel lines of a captured ISIS-made drone. Photo: TASS
The Russians confronted very serious predicaments with swarms of home-built drones, likely made by ISIS, that were used to attack Russia’s Syrian airbase (Khmeimim ) and naval base (Tartus).  Despite having modern air defences, the drones flew into the Russian bases without being detected, mostly because those drones were made of balsa wood, fabric and duct tape.