The Age of Drones

Even as India’s military establishment was shocked by the use of drones on a Jammu airbase, the IAF is planning to acquire UAS which will detect, track and destroy them with laser-directed weapons systems

- Wg Cdr Praful Bakshi

THE surprise attack on Jammu Air Base in the early hours of June 27 through the supposed use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) brought a severe jolt to the entire security system of the region despite a number of intelligence inputs.

A flying machine, without doubt, was the most important contribution of the industrial revolution and like aircraft, an unmanned flying system has various uses, ranging from commercial, goods delivery, survey and weather study, photography, monitoring shipping and railway network, policing oil pipelines, borders and in anti-smuggling activities.

The earliest use of UAV for war was recorded in 1849 when balloons carrying 24-30 lb bombs were launched from SMS Vulcano, an Austrian navy paddle steamer, which served as a balloon carrier and launched hot air balloon bombs at Venice, the first offensive use of airpower in naval aviation. The bombs were dropped with a delayed fuse over the besieged city.

The tactical use of drones would depend on the military doctrines of an individual country. But these would be part of integrated combat groups, and perform various combat tasks.

Thereafter, pilotless aircraft were developed during the World War I and were successfully used against German Zeppelins and equipped with radio control systems. It was the use of DH82B Queen Bee, a pilotless target aircraft, which subsequently led to the introduction of the word drone. These were further developed during World War II and used for photographing the enemy position. Later, drones became faster and more efficient like the radio-controlled target drone produced by the Australian Government Aircraft Factories.

Droning on...