By Dr. Sanket Kulkarni
The Russia-Ukraine war has provided interesting insights into the nature of drone warfare. The targets selected by each side for drone strikes included several civilian installations, critical infrastructure, and public areas with the intent to cause psychological pressure on the civilian population and cripple the other side’s war-fighting ability.
During the conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025, it was reported in the media that Pakistan launched over 600 drones to target Indian cities and several military & civilian installations.
While India emerged successful in warding off the drone threat, it needs to maintain continued vigilance against future unauthorized drone operations emanating from some of its acrimonious neighbours.
The delicate nature of South Asian geopolitics and the deepening military technology cooperation among India’s adversaries necessitate expanding the coverage of the anti-drone ecosystem, both within the country and at its borders.
There is an urgent need to create a framework for the deployment of anti-drone systems in key civilian areas. Recently, the State of Louisiana in the United States has notified a law through which the local law enforcement units are empowered to mitigate rogue drone threats.
Operating Anti-Drone Units In Civilian Areas
Entities in both the public and private sectors have been quick to recognize the need for anti-drone systems in the country. Some private sector entities have also teamed up with domestic & foreign players for offering anti-drone solutions.
However, the availability of appropriate anti-drone solutions is just one aspect. There is also a need to create capable human resources who are well-versed in understanding the dynamics of the larger air defence ecosystem and able to handle the complex nature of the anti-drone kill chain.
With advancements in technology & greater data integration, the anti-drone system operators will have the right reference points for classifying the drone threat.
However, the decision to initiate mitigation requires thoroughness and sensitive handling. For instance, if an unauthorized drone is seen flying above a civilian area, then the operator must take every precaution to initiate a mitigation plan that also prevents collateral damage. And all this has to be done within a matter of a few minutes.
Given the above context, in addition to evaluating technological solutions for mitigating rogue drones, authorities in the State Police and Central Armed Police forces must focus their efforts on creating a sufficient workforce to conduct anti-drone operations.
From addressing the threat of rogue drones in an ad hoc manner, law enforcement agencies need to work towards creating permanent, specialized anti-drone units in their respective forces.
Anti-Drone Capabilities
Earlier, India’s Home Minister, Mr. Amit Shah, had mentioned that the Government of India is planning to establish an Anti-Drone unit to guard the country’s borders. The State of Manipur in India’s Northeast is reportedly working towards creating a Drone Hunting Team to counter rogue drone threats within the state proactively.
To counter the menace of cross-border smuggling of contraband items using drones, the police in the State of Punjab are looking to procure nine anti-drone systems.
Similarly, a media report in Bhaskar English mentions that the anti-drone systems, which the Gujarat police had earlier procured, were deployed in the state’s border districts during Operation Sindoor.
Another report mentions that the State of Uttarakhand, which shares borders with China and Nepal, is also exploring the possibility of deploying anti-drone systems during religious gatherings and protecting strategic installations.
Leveraging Air Defence Expertise
There is a need for greater collaboration between civilian and military authorities to create a suitable workforce to support the development of anti-drone units in the State Police and Central Armed Police forces.
It was mentioned in a media platform that 3000 newly recruited Agniveers were involved in various air defence roles to counter missile and drone attacks from Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
The anti-drone units of the State Police and the Central Armed Police Forces must explore the possibility of absorbing such Agniveers after their service with the Indian Armed Forces.
Similarly, those Air Defence service personnel retiring from their regular service in the Armed Forces can also make meaningful contributions to such anti-drone units.
It would be worthwhile for concerned stakeholders to map and create a national-level database of such retiring service personnel with technical and operational expertise in handling aerospace & air defense operations.
The domain of anti-drones could become a relevant and important employment avenue for such retiring Air Defence personnel.
Recently, the US Government released an executive order that called for the creation of a National Training Center for Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems, with the intent of training federal and local officials in counter-drone systems, particularly in preparation for upcoming major sports events in the US.
It would be worthwhile for the Government of India to replicate this recommendation and establish a similar training center to develop human resource capabilities for anti-drone units in state police and Central Armed Police forces.
The focus of the proposed training center should be on educating personnel of anti-drone units in all aspects of drone warfare, including evolving mitigation methods, monitoring global attack patterns, assessing changing trends in drone technology, and evaluating relevant technology solutions.
The training centre can also become an important platform for incorporating global best practices in this niche domain and also interfacing with other global training institutions.
(The writer is a Defence Analyst)
