Framework in place to weed out Chinese parts from drones

A comprehensive framework has been set up to filter out any software or hardware of Chinese origin in the drones used by the military. 

Th framework has been suggested by the three armed forces and would be part of the ongoing review of the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP), sources said.

This comes after, last year, an Indian Army drone operating near the northern borders was reportedly hijacked by Pakistan. The vulnerability was due to the use of Chinese made ‘auto-pilot’ which guides the drone to its destination.

The new framework will address the use of Chinese components in drones. This will be part of the detailed risk analysis of Chinese components across critical domains — communications, sensors, GPS and software.

Disclosure of components’ origins must

The framework will mandate full disclosure of drone hardware origins, embedded software, and the third-party firmware. The scrutiny would include certification programmes requiring traceability reports and component verification

It will look to enforce strong encryption and secure data transmission protocols. It could also include restriction of drones from syncing with apps or systems developed by non-trusted sources

This would have two types of scrutiny — one for the hardware and other for the software. Specialists from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) would be part of the process to weed-out Chinese origin software and hardware.

It will mandate full disclosure of drone hardware origins, embedded software, and the third-party firmware. The scrutiny would include certification programmes requiring traceability reports and component verification.

It will look to enforce strong encryption and secure data transmission protocols. It could also include restriction of drones from syncing with apps or systems developed by non-trusted sources.

Periodic audits of drones in service would be done to evaluate component safety, software integrity and firmware updates. It will establish kill-switch protocols or mandatory remote disablement features for high-risk deployments.

Already the services are funding domestic drone component innovation through government grants, public-private partnerships and university-led research.

After Operation Sindoor, the armed forces are looking at specific next-generation technologies for drones to dodge enemy surveillance and then to launch attack.

The plan is to get the technology from indigenous sources, including the drone controlling hardware and software. Technologies like these have been developed internationally by a few countries, but the option of foreign sourcing has not been explored.

The forces want three crucial technologies in future drones — secure communication using software defined radios; GPS free operations; and ability to beat the jamming of radio signals by enemy.

India