Indian Defence Review

Media recently reported the arrest of four persons in Varanasi for filming the ‘Ganga Aarti’ using drone cameras at the Dashashwamedh Ghat without permission. The arrest was possible because the cam-copter was observed hovering in the vicinity. These four persons reportedly belong to Mumbai, Chandigarh, Delhi and Assam. They claimed they were commissioned by a travel channel for filming the Ganga Aarti. But what is more significant is their mentioning that such shooting had already been done earlier in places like Allahabad, Varanasi, Shimla, Manali and Agra, and that the filming team included four foreigners as well.

So it is apparent that the use of drone cameras at Allahabad, Varanasi, Shimla, Manali and Agra was not even noticed – not that it should be any surprise considering that even the Purulia drop was discovered by chance ‘after’ the drop. So much for our security consciousness but then this is only from disclosures by the four apprehended accused. Whether such activities have been undertaken by other groups and NGOs involving foreigners and Indian nationals elsewhere should be a matter of concern.

Now comes the recent news of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shooting  down a Hamas drone laden with explosives, launched from Gaza over the Israeli city of Ashdod on July 14. The unmanned aircraft, about nine feet long, was reportedly taken out by a Patriot missile along the southern Israeli coast. Israeli officials say it was the first time Hamas militants launched drone since fighting escalated last month.

Earlier, an Iranian origin drone (Ababil 1) had been sighted flying over Gaza. David Cenciotti had then written in ‘The Aviationist’ that Ezzedeen Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas are flying a UAV over Gaza Strip and are using the social media to show footage and photographs of the rarely seen Ababil A1B armed drone.

The UAV shown in the footage released by Hamas carried what looked like four AGMs (Air-to-Ground Missiles). Hamas claimed the A1B undertook three missions over Israeli military bases and a specific mission over Israeli War Ministry but no onboard weapons were fired. The Ababil UAV made in Iran has been developed for tactical reconnaissance, target practice and undertaking attacks. Another version (Ababil 3) was reportedly shot down in Iraq by a US F-16 over Iraq in February 2009. Yet another version Ababil-T has been used by Hezbollah in Northern Israel.

Readers may recall two decades back, in 1995, the Aum Shinrikyo cult had undertaken Sarin gas bombings of Tokyo subway. In five well coordinated attacks, Sarin was released on several lines of the Tokyo Metro, killing 13, severely injuring 50 and causing temporary loss of vision to some 1000 people. More significantly, the Cult actually had two remote controlled helicopters and had even smuggled in a Russian Mi-8 helicopter part by part, which was in the process of being assembled, as was discovered by the Japanese Police later. Aum Shinrikyo had enough Sarin to kill one million people.

However, by a quirk of fate, both the remote control helicopters had crashed while undertaking flight trials and the cult leader, Shoko Asahara, decided to demonstrate his prowess without using the Mi-8 helicopter. Had the two remote controlled helicopters actually been used by the cult to spray Sarin gas over Tokyo, the results would have been catastrophic.

What is relevant today is that organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah are in possession of drones. It does not matter who the suppliers are because other terrorist organizations would endevour to have similar capability. Not that this is the first time ever either.  The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Latin America has been collaborating with drug cartels to create remote-controlled submarines for smuggling drugs capable of transporting 1,800 kilograms of cocaine more than 1,600 kilometres without refueling. prisoners.

In 2009, an attempt was made to deliver drugs to prisoners using a drone in a UK prison guarded by a 50 feet high electric fence. In 2011, Rezwan Ferdaus, an al-Qaeda affiliate, planned to launch an attack on the Pentagon and Capitol buildings using a remote-controlled drone aircraft laden with explosives but luckilily the plot was intercepted by the FBI intercepted the plot. In 2012, criminals piloted a $600 remote-controlled quad-copter was piloted over a Brazilian prison to deliver cell phones to the prisoners.

So where would all this lead to? According to the study ‘Global Strategic Trends – Out to 2045’ undertaken in UK, the pace and breadth of technological advancements will change our perception of our role in the workplace. We will face new risks to our security both at home and abroad. Driverless transport is likely to be widespread. Unmanned systems are increasingly likely to replace people in the workplace, leading to mass unemployment and social unrest. Cheaper and more sophisticated drones will mean criminal and terrorist groups are likely to find it easier to “gain, hold and use unmanned capabilities.

By 2045 or earlier, it says, “criminal organizations could secure payload space on rockets operated by private companies – this would allow them to launch their own surveillance satellites, potentially threatening individual and corporate privacy. But that being the peek into future, what we need in India is to consider possibility of use of drones by radicals to deliver terrorist strikes that may range from assassinations to delivery of explosives, chemicals and gas.

The methods used to attack the twin towers and other targets during 9/11 surprised the world. It is logical that terrorists will always try and look for newer and more lethal methods of attack. Drones provide a potent platform that does not even require sacrifice as in suicide missions. We are in an environment where Amazon wants to deliver your packages using drones and tomorrow the pizza delivery man may be replaced by the drone. Remote controlled toys including helicopters and aircraft have proliferated nit only as toys for the young but also for adults pursuing flying hobbies.

Drone cameras have proliferated as well and are being marketed for surveillance in insurgency infected areas. There is an obvious need to control, regulate and monitor all these activities without banning commercial use that facilitates our everyday lives. Do we have any regulatory authority in place and do we need to review our laws against their misuse? Shouldn’t possession / acquisition of a drone without license be treated as a serious criminal offence? Then, the IDF brought down the Hamas Arabil with a patriot missile.

Do we have the system in place to detect and intercept a terrorist drone (s) strike especially in an environment where drones can even be hijacked by terrorists? These are issues that are hardly distant. We cannot afford to consider all this utopian, await such strike and then go about recting in our usual style. A serious review of our defence and security mechanism in this context is definitely warranted.