Drones Pose Tremendous Danger to Military and Other Targets

On June 1, Ukraine executed one of the most shocking military operations of the strategic air assets in one coordinated strike. The drones weren’t hypersonic or guided by AI – they were small, cheap, quadro-copters made from commercially available parts, piloted by open-source software and deployed from inside Russia using civilian trucks.

Drones provide precision and deniability, enabling both state and non-state actors to conduct operations with reduced logistical costs and risks to human infiltrators. FPV or 'first person view' drones, where the operators get a cockpit view of the terrain and target, can carry small explosives like an RPG warhead capable of taking out a tank.

Operation Spiders Web marks the second time in recent years when an operation at this scale has featured an “attack from within.” The first was the Israeli operation that rigged communications pagers used by Hezbollah with explosives and caused mayhem in the organisation prior to the outbreak of open Israel-Hezbollah hostilities.

Such attacks have changed the calculus of security raising vulnerabilities in areas hitherto considered safe. Now there are worries that a range of military facilities could be targeted in similar attacks. There have been worries expressed as to how US ports could be vulnerable to Chinese ships carrying similar drones.

In a similar manner, some 60 Indian air bases, and many hundreds Indian Army stations and facilities could similarly be vulnerable. The situation calls for a redesigning of the defences of many of these places. Recall in 2021, the first ever drone attack on a military facility in India was carried out when two drones dropped explosives on the Jammu air force station damaging a building. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Pakistan border is less than 20 kms from the station. The Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan borders are already “active” where hundreds of drones come across to drop drugs, and often weapons and explosives.

Protection begins with the periphery. In 2002, the US inaugurated the Container Security Initiative to enhance maritime security by preventing the use of cargo containers for terrorist activities such as smuggling weapons of mass destruction. The first line of defence for this were foreign ports which loaded cargo for the US where high risk containers were screened prior to departure using X-Ray, gamma ray machines and radiation detectors. As of now CSI is operational in 58 foreign ports covering 85% of the traffic to the US

India is not a member of the CSI though it has had discussions with the US on the issue. New Delhi is concerned about its own security since posting of US officials in Indian ports could provide the US a means of tracking India’s sensitive imports .

There are also issues with costs associated with the specialised equipment that would have to be set up.

In 2004, 10 workers were killed in a private steel company near Delhi when they were handling scrap iron which was mixed with live shells and rockets from an unspecified foreign war zone.

In 2005, the authorities in Mumbai found a container shipment containing some 34 revolvers, 1,000 live cartridges, 3 pistols and a silencer in a container which was imported from Bangkok and was supposed to have 27 drums of grease. The shipment was attributed to local gang members in the city.

India of course has its own system of port security which does use scanners on a risk-based screening for cargo at JNPT, Mumbai and Chennai. But these are not deployed universally across India’s dozen or so major ports. New Delhi has also proposed this year to create a new state-backed Bharat Container Line to reduce reliance on foreign operators, This is of course a commercial initiatives, but it will also integrate security protocols.

After the security of the periphery, India will have to think of protecting its inland sensitive areas.

Little is known as yet about the manner in which the Ukrainian drones were guided. In all likelihood some were piloted remotely, others used AI to go along pre-programmed paths. In any case, they penetrated the perimeter defences to reach their targets. In India, some, though not all the bases are walled up along with a layer of barbed wire. They are policed by watch-towers and active patrols.

Now it will be important to incorporate a drone-response team to the guard system. This will not be just a guard who will sound the alarm, but given the short time in which the threat is activated, it will require teams aided by sensors and anti-drone guns capable of immediate reaction to neutralise drones.

Defences will have to be layered. While at the first level radar provides air bases with the ability to track some drones, smaller ones can still get through. Radio-Frequency (RF) detectors that track autonomous drones may not be sufficient. What will be needed at the second level is integrated over-lapping sensors – optical, thermal, auditory, along with radars to cover threats at all altitudes and paths.

Third level counter-drone systems will again have to be a mix of kinetic guns and pellet firing systems, directed energy weapons, as well as electronic jamming and spoofing equipment. In addition there can be drone interceptors that can be launched quickly to fight attacking drones. In Ukraine drone vs drone has become an important means of defence.

A final layer of action is to shut down 5G and 4G networks adjacent to the bases which the drones can be riding on to execute their attacks.

Given the threat India faces from non-state as well as state actors, the number of vulnerable areas is even greater if you count the various government offices, economic targets, railway stations, power grids and so on. All this requires a changed way in looking at security given the rise of the FPV threat.

Manoj Joshi is a distinguished fellow with the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi.

This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire & Galileo Ideas – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.

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