00:00With me, Captain Anil Gaurji with whom we would like to ask a few questions about how would you assess
00:07the changing security scenario along the LOC and the international border in the context of increasing drone activity?
00:15See, drones these days are the best mode of doing any anti-national activity by any country.
00:25They are using drones for sending in narcotics, sending in weapons, sending in money for forwarding their terrorist activities.
00:38We have seen how drones are being used in the wars. First effective use was in the Armenia-Azerbaijan war.
00:46Now we have seen how Iran also, the IRGC, how effectively they use drones in the Middle East.
00:52So drones are now there to stay but countermeasures are being taken by the Indian government and we have developed
01:01necessary weapons plus we have developed countermeasures for it which ensure that we destroy the drones or incapacitate them or
01:11even sometimes override their controls and send them back to the source where they came from and have them explode
01:18with their weapons over there.
01:19So these sorts of things are being carried on. Details is not right for me to give on the air
01:29and this you can be rest assured, the people of the country can be rest assured that the government of
01:35India is doing its utmost to ensure that we do not have any problems from these drones.
01:40Sir, as you mentioned it and said, drones are now being used for survival and smuggling of weapons, narcotics and
01:47even explosives. How serious is this threat to India's national security?
01:53See, this is a very serious threat because we have seen that especially in Punjab area and in Jammu and
02:00Kashmir where the border is very conducive for a drone to come in and drop its load and go back
02:10because of the vegetation and because of the terrain over here.
02:15And Pakistan has been using this. We have caught many times we have got the consignments, many times we have
02:22managed to bring down the drones also and we have seen that main consignment is narcotics, second is arms emanation
02:30and lastly is some cash that comes in from there.
02:34But this is how Pakistan is trying to destabilize the border states and the country.
02:40Sir, how effective are India's current anti-drone system and border surveillance mechanism in tackling this challenge if we see
02:48after Operation Sindhu?
02:50See, like I said before, India has developed the necessary technologies. We are using laser, we are using the radio
02:59waves, we are using electromechanical means, we are also using the, I would say, radar systems to track these drones
03:07wherever they are and shoot them down.
03:09But it is, it will not be good for me to give in the complete details of what is being
03:14done because that would affect the systems and the, our national security per se.
03:20But it can be rest assured that we have taken the necessary steps and India, let me tell you, is
03:26one of the first countries which has most advanced in doing these anti-drone systems wherein we have used them
03:34during Operation Sindhu when Pakistan launched such a lot of drones.
03:38We have seen how we have neutralized each and every one of them. There were at least around 1200 drones
03:43that were launched in Jammu and Kashmir and in Punjab, Haryana area, but all of them were neutralized and they
03:50could not even do it.
03:52When we talk after Operation Sindhu, we have seen many aerial threats or movements across the border, like I am
03:58talking about drone activities have increased, do you believe that Pakistan basic terror groups are increasingly relaying on drones to
04:06infiltrate weapons and explosives into Jammu and Kashmir or we can talk about Punjab as well?
04:12See, basically the terror groups are not the ones that are using these drones. It is the ISI and the
04:18Pakistan army that is doing it and this is very well known fact. They use these terrorists as a front
04:23but the actual command, control and operational systems are being maintained by Pakistan.
04:30In Operation Sindhu we also saw that China was manning some of their radar systems and all because of their
04:38aircraft that was flying up J-17 and others to control and give them commands from there.
04:43So this sort of a thing is going on and Indian government knows about it, we know about it and
04:48we will take necessary steps as and when required.
04:51What lessons can India learn from ongoing global conflicts, particularly regarding the use of drones in modern warfare or we
05:00can say the gorilla warfare?
05:03See, first and foremost is that one has to be total Atam Nirbhar.
05:08When Atam Nirbhar means is that you must be having the technology, you must be having the systems to make
05:15that entire system within India without depending upon any external country.
05:21Because if you depend upon an external country, we have seen that at times, at critical times, the other country
05:28stops giving us the material and cites its own problems over there.
05:37So this sort of thing is that one, that is very important. All the technology that is being used in
05:44these anti-drone systems, it has been developed by DRDO and private entrepreneurs and this is totally homegrown.
05:51So we have no problem whatsoever in scaling it up or even in giving it to all the security forces
06:01that include the BSF, the CRPF, the Indo-Tibetian border police and others apart from the Indian army.
06:09So this sort of thing is very much required and India is already doing that.
06:13When we talk about the fence system which we have got from foreign countries and the fence is in Jumu
06:22and Kashmir, few parts of Jumu and Kashmir and Punjab.
06:24Now drones are piercing these fences. Do you think that this type of aerial threat is posing new challenges to
06:33Indian security forces?
06:34See, first and foremost is the fence will not stop a drone. The fence is for physical stopping of cross
06:41-border movement of terrorists and that is why the fence is there.
06:47As far as the drones are concerned, they will come into the aerial system and for that we require the
06:53systems which are going to detect them and then destroy them.
06:57This India has already developed and we have seen that Operation Sindhuur has been one big example of what India
07:05did and the entire world stood up to take notice that a country which was earlier being said as a
07:12developing country has now mastered the technology of ensuring that drones and missiles do not harm it.
07:20My question is straight. After Operation Sindhuur, we are usually watching, seeing drones are hovering over the Sikai. Do you
07:30think that it is a big challenge to India right now when we have smart fence as well on the
07:35border?
07:36See, like I said, the smart fence will not stop the drone. The smart fence that is there is to
07:42stop physical border crossing by the terrorists and all. As far as the drones are concerned, for that you require
07:49other systems.
07:50One is the radar systems and all. And second is you require systems to decapacitate them or to destroy them.
07:58India has developed that very effectively. These are seen. Now, there are some drones which you see will always get
08:05through in the sense that you cannot stop 100%. Some drones will come around which will be used for dropping
08:13of arms ammunition and all by Pakistan ISI and the army.
08:16And that normally what happens is when the drone comes in, either it is detected when it is coming in
08:23or when it has dropped its consignment. But this thing is there. India has done the necessary homework and we
08:30have taken steps for it.
08:31Thank you, Captain Anil Gorji for sharing your valuable insights on the evolving drone threat and challenges it poses to
08:39India's border skirt.
08:46Thank you, Captain Vida.
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