Kamikaze drones, armed UAVs: Aerial assets deployed by Pak to breach Indian airspace

From swarm drones, including the kamikaze variant, to armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Pakistan deployed these aerial assets to breach India’s airspace in a bid to cause destruction during the ongoing conflict but the Indian military has effectively repulsed the attacks, according to people in the know.

A kamikaze drone or suicide drone drops with or without a payload on a target and then engages in self-destruction, or it destroys itself after dropping ammunition, people familiar with the technology said.

A source in the military establishment said that while drones, as a means of non-contact warfare, have played a key role in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and Russia-Ukraine war, it is seemingly the “first time” that drones have been used on such a large scale when seen in the context of India and Pakistan.

Pakistan has used swarm drones to intrude into Indian airspace, but have met with a proportionate and effective response from the Indian military thanks to its robust air defence system, they said.

On the intervening night of May 8-9, the Pakistan military carried out multiple violations of Indian airspace along the entire western border with an intent to target military infrastructure, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said at a press briefing here, along with Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

“Along the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC), drone intrusions were attempted from Leh to Sir Creek at 36 locations with approximately 300 to 400 drones.

“Indian Armed Forces brought down a number of these drones using kinetic and non-kinetic means. The possible purpose of these large-scale aerial intrusions were to test the AD (air defence) systems and gather intelligence,” she said during the briefing on May 9.

Forensic examination of the drone debris is being undertaken, military officials have said.

“Preliminary reports suggest them to be the ASISGUARD Songar drone of Turkey. Later in the night, an armed UAV of Pakistan attempted to target Bathinda military station, which was detected and neutralised,” Wing Commander Singh had said.

Songar armed drone system, developed by ASISGUARD, can be used in any kind of day or night military and security operations. The system can broadcast real-time video and operate within a mission radius of up to 5 km, according to the website of the Ankara-based company.

The military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours escalated in the past few days, with both military and civil authorities in India remaining on high alert.

On Saturday morning, the Indian Army said that Pakistan’s “blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continues along our western borders".

From the border areas of Rajasthan in the west to Jammu in the north, sighting of many drones in parts of these locations in the last couple of days, have caused anxiety among local residents, many of whom are spending sleepless nights amid blackouts and sounds of sirens after dark.

“In the early hours of today, at approximately 5, Pakistani forces launched multiple Byker YIHA III kamikaze drones across the International Border towards Amritsar in Punjab, in a blatant attempt to strike densely populated residential areas,” a defence source said.

“As a result of the vigilance and rapid response of the Indian Army’s Air Defence (AAD) network, the hostile drones were detected, tracked and engaged within seconds of breaching Indian airspace,” the source said.

Using quick-reaction air-defence guns positioned in depth along the border belt, AAD gunners brought down the drones in mid-air, “ensuring that no debris fell on civilian property and that no casualties were sustained”, they said.

“Initial analysis indicates that the drones carried high-explosive payloads intended to inflict maximum damage on innocent civilians,” the source added.

A kamikaze drone is essentially an unmanned air vehicle that “carries its own warhead”, loiters over an area to locate a target, and then crashes into it, destroying both itself and the intended target, the source in the military establishment said.

The prompt neutralisation of this threat underscores the effectiveness of India’s layered air-defence grid, which integrates ground-based radars, electro-optical sensors and automated command-and-control systems, they said.

Wing Commander Singh, along with Col Qureshi and Foreign Secretary Misri, also briefed the media on Saturday morning on the current situation.

“Pakistani military continued with its provocations, carrying out aggressive actions employing multiple threat vectors all along the western border. Pakistan employed UCAV, drones, long-range weapons, loitering munitions and fighter aircraft to target civilian areas and military infrastructure,” the IAF officer said.

“Pakistan military also resorted to air intrusions using drones and firing of heavy calibre weapons along the Line of Control,” she said.

The Ministry of Defence on Saturday said, “Multiple armed drones have been sent through the night, endangering civilians and religious sites. The Indian armed forces remain vigilant and are committed to defending the sovereignty of the nation.”

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