Controller from Hong Kong, components from local shops: How Pak-based terror groups make drones to target India
Two drones carried out attack at air force station in Jammu on Sunday, which the investigators have linked to LeT. The security experts say as many as 14 drone sorties have been made by Pakistani terror groups.
The India-Pakistan border has seen the drone activity rise in recent years. Most of these drones are used by Pakistan-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). On Sunday, two drones carried out attacks at the Air Force Station in Jammu, which the investigators have linked to LeT.
HT Exclusive: Pak LeT behind drone attack in Jammu, target was ATC and parked IAF helicopters
One such drone activity was thwarted by alert Indian security forces in Hiranagar sector of Jammu in June last year.
The drone, which was shot down by the Border Security Force (BSF), fell into an open field. A forensic analysis of that drone was carried out by Delhi-based Drone Federation of India (DFI), which said that it was a locally assembled hexacopter. The components used are easily available in hobby shops, it added.
The flight controller of the 24kg drone was CubeBlack, manufactured in Hong Kong. It also said that no pre-planned mission was set in the drone and it was controlled manually using the ground control system. It also said that the drone operator had disabled all modes of data extraction.
The DFI further said that the estimated radius for takeoff was 10km beyond visual line of sight operation. The drone was in air for 35 minutes, said DFI, adding that the maximum possible range was 30 km. The DFI experts did not find any external hacking or custom firmware on the drone.
The experts further said that based on the labelling of the components on the drone found in June last year, they observed that the drones are being created in batches.
Top security officials have said that as many as 14 drone sorties have been made by Pakistani terror groups.
Late on Sunday night, a fresh attempt to attack a military installation with the help of drones was foiled by the security forces. The personnel stationed at Ratnuchak-Kaluchak station fired at two unmanned aerial vehicles that flew away.
The first drone was sighted around 11.45pm and the second one, at around 2.40am, said officials. A search operation has been launched and the area outside the military station cordoned off.
The military station at Kaluchak has been on high alert since the 2002 terror attack. Thirty-one people, including 10 children, were killed in the attack. Forty eight people, including 13 Army personnel, 20 Army family members and 15 civilians were injured.
