Each vehicle will cost between Rs 25 lakh & Rs 40 lakh and have light machine gun mounted on it

NEW DELHI: IGI will soon become the first airport in the country to have bullet-resistant vehicles on its premises. Equipped with state-of-the-art weapons, the deployment of these vehicles is aimed at countering vehicular and lone-wolf attackers in and around the airport. These will be handed over to CISF’s quick-reaction teams, trained to be first respondents to a crisis situation. Six such vehicles will be stationed at the airport from March 15.

An official said each unit would cost between Rs 25 and 40 lakh and have a light machine gun mounted on it. These vehicles will be bomb-resistant and deployed with specifically trained staff at locations prone to attacks. Officials said, currently, there are no bulletproof vehicles at any of the Indian airports.

IGI is one of the most hyper-sensitive airports in India. Amid renewed cross-border tensions, it was put on high alert recently.

A senior official said that even though the number of advanced gadgets being procured by CISF for security at airports had been rising, there was no gadget that could match up to the advanced technology of these bullet-resistant vehicles. “If ever there is a terrorist attack, these vehicles will be rushed to the spot. This will enable CISF personnel to prevent the attackers from harming people without coming in the line of fire,” an official said.