Begun, the Drone Wars have

In a first, Terrorists used drones to attack Indian Air Force establishments in Jammu & Kashmir. Many experts had warned of such a possibility and India will really have to be on guard from hereon.

The concept of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) have been around for ages. The United States turned drone warfare into a gruesome art form against Pakistani terrorists from 2004 onward killing thousands in hundreds of strikes.

Still, those UAVs were of a military nature. It is only recently thanks to technology and startups that drones have been democratized and refer to the smaller flying vehicles that are practically accessible to all the citizens. There are hundreds of drone startups in the world and dozens in India of note.

That means that it is that much easier for bad state actors to procure or make drones to do terrorist acts. While the AK-47 has proved to be a weapon of choice for terrorists all over the world, parent company Kalashnikov has patented an AK-47 drone. They are not alone. Military companies are experimenting with armed drones, “suicide drones” and those that can lob grenades with ease.

Drones were already popular on a massive scale for spying and surveillance. Arming them and using them for attacks seemed to be the next logical step. Pakistani terrorist groups and those like the Islamic State have been into drone warfare extensively but now we are entering the next stage where world governments can directly be targeted.

Chinese DJI (Daijing Innovations) is a giant in the global drone trade. However, it is also very popular with terror groups all over the world, so much so that the US has blacklisted the company. DJI is great for retrofitting and rebel groups are using them across geographies.

But the India attack is not even the first such one. In 2018, there was an assassination attempt on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro involving two drones laden with explosives. The first such small aerial attack could actually be considered in 1994. Then, Japanese terror cult Aum Shinrikyo (now called Aleph) failed in an attempt to spray the deadly sarin gas using a remote-controlled helicopter.

Drones can be custom made to be the right size or shape for a terrorist’s needs and he physically doesn’t even have to be present. They are becoming faster and acquiring a greater range. It will be really tough to counter those drones that can fit in the palm of your hand. 3D printing is being used to make micro drones. Stealth is being used with some drones resembling birds and even flapping like them.

Others are using “drone swarms” wherein multiple drones are sent to overwhelm the target. As technology advances, these swarms will be able to self-organize. That is why authorities will have to find more and more ways to counter them.

Drones are used by activists and many governments would like to equate them with terrorists. Climate alarmist group Extinction Rebellion used a drone to disrupt Heathrow Airport in London. Their leader was arrested in 2019 and there was a lengthy court process on how exactly he should be treated. There was a disruption in 2018 at Gatwick Airport over a drone sighting.

Both Heathrow and Gatwick have installed anti-drone systems. These use a holographic radar and can detect drones kilometres away. A handy feature of that system is that they can find where the command signals are coming from to get the location of the drone operators. Maybe it’s time for India to start installing the same in a phased manner at its sensitive installations.