Drone Attack At IAF Station In Jammu: A Dangerous New Front
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
View all posts by this Author
By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-06-28 06:54:17
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
View all posts by this Author
The drone strike on IAF station at Jammu adds a new and dangerous element to future terror attacks. It is dangerous because the technology to intercept and neutralize low-flying objects like drones is still in the development stage and these attacks can be launched by terror cells within India and from close proximity of the target. This goes well with Pakistan's policy of waging a proxy war against India.
The way the current attack was carried out it seems that the perpetrators were also in trial mode. The two drones carried IED not strong enough to cause serious damage and were also not guided properly, with one causing some damage to the roof of a building and another falling in an open area. But with the way they managed to breach the security at the base, the terrorists will now be emboldened to try more advanced attacks with high technology drones, deadlier explosives and pinpoint targeting.
Further, till now India has made retaliatory strikes inside Pakistan on the premise that the terror camps in that country are responsible for sending men who carry out the attacks on Indian soil. But with drone attacks this will not work. Also, the drones can be smuggled in, if not bought in India, in a knocked-down condition and assembled here to escape detection.
The Punjab police had discovered two drones that had crashed near the border sometime back. Hence, drones were being used by Pakistan-based terrorists to drop drugs and arms inside Punjab and even J&K. But this is the first time they have used to attack a military facility.
Since these attacks in future can turn out to be very precise and have the potential of inflicting heavy localized damage, India will have to invest in emerging technology to detect and neutralize these terror drones. Offensive technologies like swarm drones must also be explored. India cannot be caught unawares if terrorists use these low-cost and easy options to attack facilities and inflict damage.
