India must step up Attack-Drones production for its defence

Attack-Drone has become a key weapon in modern warfare

- BY NANTOO BANERJEE

The techniques of traditional warfare seem to be fast changing. Attack drones are increasingly playing a significant role in military aggression alongside missiles.

The 12-day Israel-Iran war and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine battle showed how devastating the role of drones in modern wars is. In one of the most daring attacks, Ukraine said its armed forces used 117 attack drones to target airfields deep inside Russian territory. Ukraine’s “Operation Spider’s Web” run by its officials said the assault required Ukraine to secretly smuggle the drones into Russia over several months. Now, Russia has stepped up its drone production in a big way. Russian government records show that the country’s drone production jumped by 16.9 percent in May compared to the previous month. In April, President Vladimir Putin said over 1.5 million drones of various types were produced last year. Moscow is also developing a new laser-based system to defend against drone attacks.

In the Israel-Iran war, Iran launched around 1,000 drones at Israel during the war, according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Those Iranian drones seemed to have done bigger damage to Israel than the missiles. Iran launched some 550 ballistic missiles at Israel during the war. Most of them were intercepted by Israeli and American air defences at an interception rate of around 90 percent. Iran deployed more than 1,050 drones. Of them, 570 had reportedly reached Israeli territory. Almost all of the world’s top military powers, including the United States, Russia, China, Israel, South Korea, the United Kingdom and France, are using their advanced military technology to manufacture more and more attack drones. Surprisingly, India, considered to be the fourth largest military power, is vastly lagging in production of attack drones.