As drones have emerged as the new terror threat, the Navy has banned the flight of drones within a radius of three to four kilometres around all its bases all over the country. The other two services the Army and the IAF are also likely to follow suit.
The order on Friday came following the drone attack on the Jammu airbase on June 27. The order issued in Kochi and some other bases said it has prohibited flying of non-conventional aerial objects like drones and UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) within three kilometres of Naval Base, Naval Units and Naval assets.
“Any non-conventional aerial object, including RPAs (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) found violating this prohibition, will be destroyed or confiscated without any liability, and additionally actions may be initiated under sections 121, 121A, 287, 336, 337 and 338 of Indian Penal Code against the operator,” a statement said.
The authorities said the use of a drone to carry out a terrorist attack marked the beginning of a new security threat for the country. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week held a high-level meeting to review the operational readiness to deal with the new challenge. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval attended the meeting.
The security agencies were asked to hasten up the procurement of anti-drone systems at the earliest and the IAF recently floated a tender for acquisition of ten such systems.
The Defence Research and Development Organisations (DRDO) has developed a system which can detect a hostile drone or UAV at a range of four to five kilometres and can destroy it. The DRDO is transferring the technology to the Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL) for manufacturing these systems. The DRDO is also willing to share the knowhow with private players in the country.
As regards the ban order, sources said here the Army and IAF are also going to issue similar directions soon. Some States, including Jammu and Kashmir, have already banned the flight of drones in the wake of the attack on the airbase.
The Jammu airbase is sensitive as it is barely 20 kilometres away from the international border with Pakistan.
The base has MI-17 helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). They are used for counter-terrorism operations besides keeping an eye on the Line of Control (LOC). It is suspected the drone attack was aimed at destroying the helicopters. The base does not have fighter jets.
The Navy also issued a similar order for its bases around Visakhapatnam. The naval base there is of strategic value as the submarines are based there including the indigenously designed and developed nuclear powered Arihant class submarines. While the first nuclear submarine is operational, the second Arihant class submarine is likely to be inducted soon. In all, six nuclear submarines are part of the arsenal.
