India plans to deploy anti-drone systems at civil airports

NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), at a joint meeting held recently, have decided to deploy anti-drone systems at all major and minor civil airports in view of a possible war-like situation emerging in future, officials said onSunday. Initially, it was decided to place the system at major airports like Delhi, Mumbai, Amritsar, Jammu and Srinagar, as the decision was made in view of the experience gathered during Operation Sindoor and due to global military escalations and the increased use of drones in warfare. It is learnt from the officials that the anti-drone equipment installed at the aviation infrastructure facilities will be able to thwart any possible attack using rogue drones, which have emerged as effective tools for new-age warfare. Notably, the government of India plans to install the anti-drone systems for the first time at airports, which deal only with passenger aircraft. The decision has been arrived at after multiple high-level meetings, the officials said, adding that though the MHA has been overseeing the project, a committee has been constituted by the BCAS, which has members drawn from the aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), responsible for securing airports, and other stakeholders. The officials said that the modalities and specifications of the equipment are currently being looked into, and once everything is finalised, the MHA will coordinate with the Ministry of Civil Aviation in implementing and commissioning the project. Centre designates three more seaports as immigration posts, appoints CISF as new safety regulator However, they said that the entire project would be commissioned in a phased manner, as initially sensitive airports like Delhi, Mumbai, Amritsar, Srinagar and Jammu would be covered and then the facility would be rolled out in the rest of the airports. A senior official in the know of the development said, The authorities will fix the deadlines for commissioning the equipment at different airports only after finalisation of the specifications, and then the airport operators are directed to install the technology that fits our criteria. Models successfully existing at other airports outside India are also being examined for effective implementation. In the aftermath of the April Pahalgam terror attack this year, there was a military engagement between India and Pakistan that created a war-like situation. Indian forces had struck terrorist infrastructure and had eliminated multiple threats inside Pakistan. Pakistani drones were also seen hovering over territories within India, many of which were shot down by India's defence systems.