BSF forms joint team with tech institutes for developing drone technologies

With the proliferation of drones heavily impacting the security environment, the Border Security Force (BSF) has formed a joint research group comprising of BSF officers and faculty and students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and the Rustumji Institute of Technology (RIT), Tekanpur, to develop fully customised indigenous drone technology in India.

A technical session in this regard comprising 20 senior professors and experts from IIT and RIT along with BSF officers was conducted at IIT’s Sonepat Campus on November 18 to discuss various aspects of drone technology.

The topics included lightweight composite materials, propulsion systems, aerodynamics, low-temperature batteries, motors and control systems, sensing technologies and secure communication networks, according to a BSF spokesperson.

The session was chaired by Prof Ashwini Agarwal, Dean (Research and Development), at IIT. BSF Director-General Daljit Singh Chawdhary presided over the concluding session where the future roadmap of this collaboration was discussed.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the BSF, IIT and RIT on November 10 for academic collaboration, research and technical innovation in different fields concerning the BSF, of which drone and counter-drone technology form an important part.

The proliferation of drones for cross-border smuggling of narcotics, weapons and ammunition, and also their potential use for terrorist and criminal activities has witnessed a consistent increase over the past few years. Drones have now become an intrinsic part of every force for operational, surveillance and logistics operations.

The BSF perhaps has the highest operational engagement with hostile drones amongst all central forces due to its responsibility of guarding the International Border with Pakistan, which is the major source of contraband. The Punjab frontier has the highest incidents of drone activity amongst states sharing borders with Pakistan.

BSF has deployed advanced surveillance systems, including induction of anti-drone systems, and a strong intelligence network to ensure strict security of the border. Its systems were also networked with those of the Armed Forces during Operation Sindoor in May this year to intercept intruding Pakistani drones.

The force has also reworked its operational procedures to tackle the threat from hostile drones in the border regions and updated the training curriculum for its personnel besides adding technical facilities for forensic examination of seized drones to discern their capabilities, radio links, operating locations and routes.

Though every BSF battalion and border outpost employs tactical drones for surveillance, earlier this year, the BSF raised its first dedicated drone squadron for deployment along the India-Pakistan border, that will comprise a mix of reconnaissance, surveillance and attack drones and specially-trained personnel to operate them.

The force is also focusing on in-house research and development in the field of drones. The BSF academy in Gwalior has established its first ever School of Drone Warfare, which provides not only operational and tactical training on drone and anti-drone technologies but also fosters research in these emerging domains.