In post-Sindoor push, 1st batch of BSF ‘drone commandos’ soon

The school, inaugurated earlier this month, is training these personnel in flying drones, carrying out surveillance and combat, and countering other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It will next train a batch of senior officers in drone warfare strategy. “After Operation Sindoor and in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war, we realized that the battle is no longer happening with tanks and guns, but aerial vehicles. Until now we were walking on the battlefield with LMGs (light machine guns) and rifles. Now, the drone has to become a personal weapon,” said Shamsher Singh, ADG, BSF Academy. “Our soldiers can dismantle and reassemble an INSAS in 15 seconds. We want them to have the same proficiency with drones. They should be able to repair, fly and conduct defensive and offensive operations.”

The Drone Warfare School has two main courses: Drone Commandos (for personnel) and Drone Warriors (for officers). It has three wings: flying and piloting, tactics (for defensive and offensive operations), and research and development.

“We are training our drone commandos in such a way that they are able to carry a drone like a weapon and use it to conduct surveillance and patrolling, neutralise other drones and drop a bomb if required,” said Shamsher Singh.

Brigadier Rupinder Singh, head of training at the school, said the curriculum covers flying, technical and tactical training. BSF Academy IG Umed Singh said the drone school is also preparing trainers who will go to field units and teach drone technology and operations. “Already orientation on drones has been made compulsory in all training courses for personnel and officers at the Academy,” Umed Singh said.

The school is one of multiple steps being taken by the BSF ahead of the large-scale drone induction.

It is working on collaborations with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) at Delhi and Kanpur in developing indigenous drones, refitting them with weapons and bombs, and mounting high-resolution cameras for patrolling.

To develop its own drones, the BSF has set up a Drone Technology Lab within the Rustam Ji Institute of Technology — its engineering institute at Tekanpur. The lab, officials said, is working with data and forensics gleaned from UAVs shot down at the India-Pakistan border.

The BSF’s Police Technology Innovation Centre, too, is working on a project to use drones in offensive operations. A senior BSF officer said: “We are working on it. We need faster drones for that. We are looking at attaching guns to fast-moving drones. We are in talks with other institutions for such development. There are fast-moving drones that can conduct surveillance over 500 km in a single sortie. There are drones that can even see barbed wire fences and produce images. These can help in border patrolling and defence. There are also drones that can carry other kamikaze drones and launch them, or carry up to 200 kg of payload.”

The force has tied up with IIT Kanpur to forensically analyse captured drones and is working on a tie-up with IIT Delhi for the development of technology such as noiseless drones and weaponised UAVs. “We are working on a range of projects including stealth, AI and weaponised drones,” an officer said.