NEW DELHI: Amidst the rising deployment of drones for surveillance, logistics support and even attack, India has developed an effective counter-technology. This is along with the multiple types of drones being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

As per the report recently tabled by a parliamentary standing committee, the DRDO “is developing an indigenous counter-drone technology, which is capable of counter-attacks including detection, soft kill and hard kill of all types of drones.”

“The counter-drone system is ready for production and is already demonstrated to armed services and other internal security agencies,” said sources, adding, “The technology is transferred to Bharat Electronics Limited, Bengaluru, who is the production agency for the system. In addition, Transfer of Technology is given to four more Indian firms for production of anti-drone systems.”

“Anti-drone technology is where the focus should be, and in that, DRDO is working very closely with the industry. We are also doing a lot of R&D for anti-drone protection against these types of drones,” said a DRDO representative.

The work on meeting the rising demand for different types of drones is also being carried out, including micro-drones. The Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle TAPAS developed for ISTAR (Intelligence in Surveillance, Reconnaissance And Target Acquisition) application is in the advanced stage of developmental trials.

Short Range Armed UAV Archer is being developed for reconnaissance, surveillance and low-intensity conflict. “Developmental flight trials are under progress,” said a DRDO statement. Meanwhile, the parliamentary committee report also talks about delays in projects by the DRDO. Of the 55 projects, 23 were not completed within the stipulated time.

The DRDO secretary apprised before the committee that “as a measure, we are now hiring a consultant, who will tell us the major reasons due to which projects are getting delayed. Based on that, we will try to correct.”

In Advanced Stages

“The counter-drone system is ready for production and is already demonstrated to armed services and internal security agencies,” said sources. “The technology is transferred to BEL in Bengaluru, the production agency for the system. Four more Indian firms are tasked for production of anti-drone systems.”