Laser weaponry in border blueprint

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 28

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s keenness to turn India’s land boundary with Pakistan watertight to block any future infiltration bid, NITI Aayog is working on a blueprint to give border policing a “technological edge” consisting of laser precision weapons and fencing.

The Aayog, which has been asked to prepare a long-term Vision document for 15 years replacing the five-year plan, has assigned the task of working out a complete chapter on “internal and external” security to its member VK Sarswat, who, in turn, sources said, has been working on “future options” in the light of heightened hostilities between India and Pakistan post the Uri terror attack.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Sources also confirmed that NITI Aayog is looking at weapons, which have abilities to launch “no-contact counter offensives”. Such weapons will be based on latest technologies like laser, which is high among the options. Saraswat, who was earlier secretary in Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is working on identifying laser-based disruptive technologies.

Listing out advantages of laser technology for military applications, sources in the NITI Aayog, who are in the know of the development, said such weapons have high precision and rapid on-target. These weapons also have scalable effect, which make sure avoidance of collateral damage caused by fragmenting ammunition, low logistics overhead and minimum costs per firing, they added.

Laser weapon systems operate on the basic principle that laser beams are impossible to avoid or detect. They can target both enemy personnel and enemy communications and installations. The US army and navy are most advanced in laser weapons or directed energy weapons research.

Experts in NITI Aayog, however, admit that currently a few challenges confront the scientific community in developing such systems, which could be mobile, rugged, cost-effective and functional under a variety of weather conditions. But still they feel, “once developed and put to use” particularly along the Line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir, will prove to be a game changer.