CHINESE THREAT IN INDIAN DRONES

The use of Chinese-made components in Indian drones being supplied to the army runs the risk of compromising national security through the hacking of data. A concerned military is now tightening regulations

- By PRADIP R. SAGAR

Sometimes, it takes a glaring mishap to lay bare a festering problem. For the Indian Army, that happened a few months ago, when a tactical drone—used for covert intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) activities—along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir veered off course, crossing into Pakistani territory. According to army sources, what initially seemed like a technical glitch turned into a chilling revelation: the “Make in India” drone had actually been hacked, its Chinese components exploited to wrest control from Indian operators. This wasn’t just a technical failure, it was a breach of national security. There had been a previous warning too—in early 2024, similar hacking was reported at a location near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in eastern Ladakh, when two tactical drones had failed to take off.

These revelations sent shock waves through India’s military establishment, which is scaling up drone usage for criti- cal ISR missions as well as preparing an armed fleet of Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) and, following government policy, mostly procuring them from Indian manufacturers. “We were on a procurement spree until the LoC incident exposed our vulnerability when we learnt that our bird was hacked by people operating across the border. It raises questions not only about cybersecurity but also supply chain issues in case of wartime,” says a defence official. It is time to address these issues before modernising the armed wing, he adds.