#323: Drones in warfare
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Ukraine, Israel & Op Sindoor
All have one thing in common: Drones🤔
0 Human loss, 100% efficiency😲
Learn all about drone warfare in one place!
Where did all start?🫠
Historic precedents seen in WWII & Korean war😲
Both saw UAVs to train
• anti-aircraft gunners
• limited offensive missions
While modern usage picked up post 1991 Gulf War!🛢️
Last 5 years has seen it 'scale'. How?👇🏻
• Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (2020)
Azerbaijan dominates using Turkish & Israeli drones
• Houthi rebels, Yemen: Targeted Saudi oil infra
• Gaza: Both Hamas & Israel strike & surveillance
• Ukraine: Operation Spider Web hit deep in far-off Russia
Top it with 3-D printed drones in Myanmar by rebels! 😱
In Indian neighborhood, we saw Turkish drones hovering Indian skies on behalf of Pakistan!😏
while China has diverse fleet of UAVs ready to be deployed along LAC!
Today's we see a SWARM of drones, what's that?
(semi)-Autonomous UAVs to operate as group,
communicating via wireless network
Did you know? 🤯
• adjust in real-time to achieve share objectives!
• If 1 drone intercepted, others continue!
• saturate air defense, gather intelligence & attack high-value targets
also, AI-driven real-time decision maker UAVs are in pipeline
Military drone market
- 2023: $14 bn
- 2032: $47bn
But CSEWhy, how do we counter them?
Defense begins with detection
How?🤔
• AESA radars, electro-optical & infrared sensors
• Acoustic Detectors & AI-powered systems
Once detected, they're to be neutralized
1. Traditional kinetic means (expensive):
Missiles & anti-aircraft guns🚀
2. Cost-effective kinetic means:🛡️
• Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs)
Lasers & microwave pulses disabling sensors of UAVs
• Electronic Warfare (EW)
Jamming GPS signals disrupting communication
• Spoofing
Mislead drones about location & flight path
• Cyber Attacks
Taking control of drones & crashing them by exploiting software vulnerabilities
• Interceptor drones & nets
For close-range neutralization protecting critical assets (should have been used by Russia against Op Spider Web)
How's India preparing?
• Akashteer Air Defence Control System
BEL product integrated w/ IAF for real time tracking
• Bhargavastra
Fires 64 micro-rockets to eliminate swarms; developed by Solar Defence & Aerospace Ltd.
• Anti-Drone System (DRDO)
360 radar coverage w/ jamming (soft kill) & laser (hard kill) detecting drones in 4km radius & neutralizing in 1km radius
• Indrajaal
AI-powered grid combining jammers, spoofers & intelligence to protect areas up to 4k sq. km; already at naval sites of Gujarat & Karnataka
What are some drones of diff countries?
China: Wing Loong, long-range Soaring Dragon, BZK-005, TB-001, and Wing Loong II, kamikaze drones (CH-901)
Iran: Shahed; Turkey: TB-2; Israel: Heron; Ukraine: Titan Falcon; Myanmar (rebels have 3D printed) The Liberator MK1 and MK2
Way Forward
