{"id":1630,"date":"2023-06-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/10-06-2023\/drone-threat-need-for-comprehensive-counter-drone-strategy\/"},"modified":"2023-06-10T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-10T00:00:00","slug":"drone-threat-need-for-comprehensive-counter-drone-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/10-06-2023\/drone-threat-need-for-comprehensive-counter-drone-strategy","title":{"rendered":"Drone Threat: Need for Comprehensive Counter-Drone Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n<\/p>\n

Drone Threat: Need for Comprehensive Counter-Drone Strategy<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n
Syllabus: GS 3\/Science and Technology\/Internal Security<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
In Context\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
The possibility of the use of weaponised drones for terrorist activities in the present scenario calls for serious attention from the global community.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
The Drone Threat<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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The potential use of drones in a <\/span><\/span><\/span>terrorist incident or attack against critica<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>l i<\/span><\/span><\/span>nfrastructure and soft targets<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> is a growing concern for law enforcement as the availability of drone technology becomes more widespread globally.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
As drones <\/span><\/span><\/span>become less expensive<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span><\/span>their potential applications <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>continue to expand, it is expected that countries will witness an increase and evolution of this threat.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
Recent examples include terrorist groups using drones in s<\/span><\/span><\/span>urveillance activities<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> and<\/span><\/span><\/span> delivering chemical, biological, radiological,<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> nuclear, and explosive materials in conflict zones, and an environmental group that repurposed a hobby drone to enter the secure airspace of a nuclear site and crash into a building highlighted the current reality of the threat posed by the illicit use of drones.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Issues and Challenges in Countering it\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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A drone can i<\/span><\/span><\/span>nflict unacceptable damage<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, not only in physical terms but also in terms of national pride.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
Its occurrence is more likely and <\/span><\/span><\/span>unpredictable<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> and Even an attempt goes undetected.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
The <\/span><\/span><\/span>use of missiles against drones is expensive<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> and the <\/span><\/span><\/span>drones <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>may not provide enough heat signatures for relatively cost-effective heat-seeking missiles defeating the cost advantage.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
Handheld guns <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>have very limited <\/span><\/span><\/span>range and accuracy<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
Electro-Optical\/Infrared (EO\/IR) devices, apart from having a limited Field of View under high magnification necessary for identification, are adversely affected by <\/span><\/span><\/span>atmospheric obscurities and emissivity.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
Wide-band detectors are possible <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>but finding the exact frequency of operation would be <\/span><\/span><\/span>time-consuming and cumbersome<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
Passive Radio Frequency (RF<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>) detection needs multiple sensors at different places to obtain a fix and the problem gets compounded if the target is a moving platform.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
The introduction of <\/span><\/span><\/span>5G <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>has added another dimension where communication is not dependent on the direct link between the drone and the operator.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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5G utilises higher radio frequencies<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> to transfer more data over the air for faster speed, reduced congestion and lower latency, and most important Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLS).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
\u00a0Satcom connectivity<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, which was earlier available only to <\/span><\/span><\/span>military-grade drones, <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>is now likely to be <\/span><\/span><\/span>available commercially<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, enabling the drones but compounding the problem for counter-drone operations.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Counter Drone Efforts\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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Globally: The USA<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> established Joint C-UAS Office (JCO) in 2019 with the purpose \u201cto lead, synchronize, and direct C-sUAS (Countering small Unmanned Aircraft System) activities by looking at doctrine, requirements, materiel, training standards, and capabilities to establish joint solutions with a common architecture to address current and future emerging sUAS threats.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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In the UK<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) coordinates with the counter-drone unit of the home office and other government agencies to maximise efficiency and minimise confusion in implementing credible anti-drone solutions.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
The NATO<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) conducted <\/span><\/span><\/span>NATO’s Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>Technical Interoperability Exercise 2022 (TIE22) in the Netherlands in 2022.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
A s<\/span><\/span><\/span>imilar exercise was carried out by Interpol <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>with over 300 participants from more than 50 countries.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
Drone catchers<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> have also emerged as an option.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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Ukraine\u2019s <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>Minister of <\/span><\/span><\/span>Digital Transformation<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> has confirmed that the country has received the first six interceptors \u2018Shahed catchers\u2019 from the <\/span><\/span><\/span>US<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Developments in India\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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India has a well-articulated <\/span><\/span><\/span>Drone Policy 2021 <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>that is updated on a regular basis, but an anti-drone policy is still being developed.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
In India, as per a report in the Government Economic Times Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (<\/span><\/span><\/span>CHESS<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>) a <\/span><\/span><\/span>DRDO <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>laboratory in Hyderabad has been experimenting with the <\/span><\/span><\/span>DEW technology development t<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>hat includes <\/span><\/span><\/span>DURGA II<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> (Directionally Unrestricted Ray-Gun Array), a <\/span><\/span><\/span>100 KW<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> lightweight DEW system.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
India has already had an experience with its <\/span><\/span><\/span>Herons and Searchers<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> procured by the three services that were not interoperable.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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A <\/span><\/span><\/span>national-level strategy<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> will overcome such issues.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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The DRDO has developed an anti-drone technology for short ranges, which was deployed for Prime Minister\u2019s security during the Independence Day address.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Way Forward\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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India must formulate a <\/span><\/span><\/span>counter-drone strategy i<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>nvolving all stakeholders.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
The counter-drone strategy must provide a comprehensive understanding of the evolving risks posed by the <\/span><\/span><\/span>malicious <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span><\/span>illegal use of drones, <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>as well as take a ‘full spectrum approach to deter, detect, and disrupt drone misuse.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
It <\/span><\/span><\/span>must provide access to counter-drone<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> capabilities as well as effective legislation, training, and guidance to operational responders.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
\u00a0It must <\/span><\/span><\/span>aid in the development of strong relationships<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> with the industry in order to ensure that its products meet the highest standards.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
Counter drone strategy<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> will act as a deterrent and like a good deterrent, will prevent the undesirable occurrence without even coming into play \u2013 the only requirement is its credibility.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
Many options of net catchers are available in the market but a system must be fully autonomous, capable of day\/night operations with advanced AI\/ML algorithms.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Mains Practice Question\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
[Q]<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> Discuss how Drone technologies contribute to terrorist activities? Elaborate strategy to tackle the problem both at national and international levels.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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Drone Threat: Need for Comprehensive Counter-Drone Strategy Syllabus: GS 3\/Science and Technology\/Internal Security In Context\u00a0 The possibility of the use of weaponised drones for terrorist activities in the present scenario calls for serious attention from the global community. The Drone Threat The potential use of drones in a terrorist incident or attack against critical infrastructure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[26,33],"class_list":["post-1630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial-analysis","tag-gs-3","tag-science-technology"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/724429Screenshot_2.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}