By Colonel H R Naidu Gade – Indian Army Veteran
Drone Attack Air Force Base Jammu. Source: Times of India.
THE BACKGROUND
Over the last few years there have been many instances where in, not only military drones but even commercial drones, have been used by non-state players to deliver the required weaponry on desired targets with absolutely no risk to the perpetrators. It is reported that more than twenty-four planned or attempted terrorist attacks took place using aerial drones between 1994 and 2020. Drones were used extensively in Syria by Turkey against Syrian Government forces and by the Syrian rebel forces against the Russian Airbase at Khmeimim. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been attacking Aramco refinery in the Saudi capital using bomb-laden drones. They reportedly also carried out an attack operation on Abha International Airport with Qasef-2K drones. Azerbaijan used Israeli-made Harop loitering munitions and Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones, which are armed with precision-guided smart munitions, among other weapons in its war with Armenia. ISIS flew over 300 drone missions in one month when the US-led coalition forces were closing in on Mosul, Iraq, in 2017. India witnessed a surprise attack using two commercial drones to deliver improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on an Indian Airforce base in Jammu, perpetrated by terrorists supported from across its border. While use of combat drones in the battlefield was very much anticipated, the use of commercial drones by terrorists which were otherwise used for logistics purposes came as a surprise to the security agencies across the world. Certainly, drones have enhanced the capabilities of terrorists many times to cause huge damage to security, economic, and other vital installations. This adds a new dimension to the security threats from terrorists. These commercial drones could also be used against the important personalities exposed in open and at public rallies. This new kind of threat got many nations to undertake speedy measures to develop anti drone systems.
Drone Carrying 5kg IED Shot down in J&K, India. Source: J&K Police.
Drone Attack Saudi Oil Field. Source: Times of India.
THE JAMMU ATTACK
The Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Jammu was attacked using two low-intensity IEDs, which were allegedly dropped from two drones. It is perhaps the first time that suspected foreign-based terrorists have used unmanned aerial vehicles in an attack. Two low- intensity explosions were reported early Sunday morning in the technical area of the air force station. One caused minor damage to the roof of a building while the other exploded in an open area, there was no damage to any equipment. The aerial distance between Jammu airport and the international border is 14 kms. The forensic experts have reportedly confirmed in the air force station attack the use of a cocktail of explosive material, including RDX and Nitrate, in the two IEDs. One was bigger in size and was aimed at infrastructural damage. The other was aimed at personnel with more splinters and ball-bearings. A GPS drone, suspected to be a ‘Made in China’ product, was used in the attack and the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit was suspected to have been behind the drone attack in what was the first instance of Pakistan-based terrorists deploying drones to strike vital installations in India.
Damage Drone Attack IAF Jammu. Source: Indian Air Force.
Drone with payload. Source: ARES.
Drones Swarm. Source: US Army.
EMERGENCE OF A NEW THREAT – DRONE DELIVERED IEDs
New tactics and techniques are being developed leveraging drone technology for future terrorist attacks, which have the ability of providing standoffs, enabling terrorists to conduct remotely multiple attacks nearly simultaneously, and magnifying their overall effect. The increase in the capabilities, ease of access and ease of operation at low cost is making the drones weapons of choice for future terrorist attacks. In the last two decades, use of airborne drones by private individuals and commercial organisations increased rapidly, caused by, reduced motor size and enhanced power output and higher energy capacity of drone batteries. These factors enabled much smaller drones to be produced commercially at a significantly reduced cost. Terrorist groups worldwide are using aerial drones to conduct intelligence collection and delivery of arms, ammunition, IEDs, and chemical weapons. The number of non-state actors currently using aerial drones has increased each year. Terrorist organisations now have the technical ability to improvise explosives to be dropped from commercial drones. Over the years, they mastered the science of IED-making and some of their IEDs were so sophisticated that it would be very difficult to neutralise them.
Anti Drone System India. Source: DRDO India.
According to a report compiled by the Drone Industry Insights, the international drone market will grow to more than $42.8 billion by 2025. The Asian market has already overtaken North America as the largest regional drone market. India, which legalised drones in December 2018, will be by far the fastest-growing commercial drone market, becoming the third largest commercial drone market in the world by 2025. This massive commercial investment has led to civilian drones becoming cheaper, easily accessible and capable of carrying larger payloads. Paradoxically, for these very reasons, the UAVs have also become the greatest security risk. Widely available commercial quadcopters are now in the hands of every insurgency. The use of consumer drones is not limited to terrorists or insurgents but also drug cartels and organised criminals. Weaponised drones are also being used by cartels in Mexico and in an attempt to assassinate President Maduro in Venezuela. Drones operated by terrorists and other malicious groups represent a wide variety of risks for security, especially at facilities such as airports, vital infrastructure, sports arenas, military bases, and strategic assets, among others.
Drone Guard Systems. Source: ELTA.
Autonomous-Drone Defence Dome System. Source: Grene Robotics.
DETECTION AND COUNTER MEASURES
According to Thomas Pledger of the Association of US Army, increased drone-based threats, led to development of systems for detection and as counter measures. Drones over a certain weight could be mandated to be equipped with a radio transponder to enable tracking. Unfortunately, as with most trackers, these systems could easily be disabled. Detecting airborne drones could be carried out through: Radar, Optical Sensors, RF analysis and Acoustic sensors. Radar is the primary means of long-range detection which can occur at up to 3 km and within line of sight. Radar is capable of detecting low-flying and small drones. Most radar systems are incapable of differentiating between a bird and a small drone.
Responding to Drone-Swarm. Source: DRDO India.
Optical detection is the use of video cameras and computer algorithms to detect a drone. RF analysis monitors the RF spectrum and detects the signals by which drones are controlled. Acoustic sensors can be either one or multiple microphones that listen for the sound of the drone’s high-speed motors or the blades of the drone moving through the air. They are limited in noisy environments and have a range under 500 m.
Thomas Pledger, enumerated several drone countermeasures and active defeat systems. The first layer of defeat for most ommercially-purchased systems is built-in software limitations, such as geofencing for GPS-enabled drones. With geofencing, limits are placed on GPS- enabled drones to prevent entering or use within restricted areas. RF jamming – communication between the drone and the pilot or GPS is disrupted. RF-jamming systems range in size, effectiveness and portability, from rifle-size jammers to those mounted on vehicles or buildings. In the physical countermeasures, the majority of options come in the form of a net. Nets create a larger contact area against a moving target and are thus more likely to entangle and disable an aerial drone’s rotating blades. Net guns range in size from a handheld flashlight- shaped device, which shoots a 3m x 3m net with a range of 15 m, to a shoulder-fired net bazooka, with a range between 100 and 250 m. A majority of commercial off-the-shelf drones are capable of flying at altitudes up to 400 m at speed, making kinetic targeting difficult. An Indian firm – Grene Robotics developed a drone defence dome termed as ‘Indrajaal’ which can protect an area of 1000-2000 sq. km against threats from UAV’s, incoming weapons, loitering munitions and Low-RCS targets. Indrajaal’s design leverages a combination of 9-10 modern technologies powered by artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and robotics that is capable of identifying, assessing, deciding, acting and evolving autonomously in real-time.
CONCLUSION
The proliferation of drones in the hands of non-state actors and insurgents is at an alarming scale and is considered as an aerial IED in future conflicts. The rapid improvements in drone technology and its increasing capabilities will provide terrorist groups with multiple new avenues to sow fear. The best defence against the hostile use of this technology is to employ regulatory countermeasures, which can restrict the capabilities of off-the-shelf civilian drones and limit the ability of malicious groups to acquire and fly drones for sinister purposes. The traditional terrorist armed with an AK-47 or wearing a suicide vest is passé. His new avatar in the form of a small drone has far more devastating capabilities for which India and the world, at this juncture, is ill-prepared according to one of India’s top army generals. ■
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Colonel H R Naidu Gade – Indian Army Veteran [B E (Civil), M Sc (Defence Studies), M B A (HR)]
Commissioned into the Corps of Combat Engineers. A Civil Engineer, and Security Professional, with 45 years of rich experience in the field of Combat Engineering, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNe) Defence, Security and Disaster Management and Counter-IED Operations. Is a qualified CBRN and Counter-IED Professional.
Is a former Member International Civil Service while working as Chief CW Inspector 1997-2004 with the ‘Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)’, The Netherlands, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2013. Led teams of international professionals on many verification missions to various member countries, to verify the inventory of Chemical Weapons and monitor their destruction.
Presently, Chief Consultant with ‘CBRNe Secure India’ a ‘forum and a knowledge centre’ for bringing awareness in the general public, government and security entities on the threats arising from the use of CBRNe material and their disastrous consequences A prolific writer and speaker, participated in various international and domestic conferences on CBRN Security, Disaster Management and Counter Explosive Issues and writes articles for professional journals worldwide on these subjects.
Download PDF: Naidu Gade – DRONE DELIVERED IEDs – COUNTER-IED REPORT, Winter 2021-22