NEW DELHI: The Border Security Force (BSF), which guards India’s frontiers with Pakistan and Bangladesh, has established special training units for “drone commandos” and “drone warriors” for modern warfare involving remote-controlled aerial vehicles, with plans to deploy them in missions such as ‘Operation Sindoor’.
Director General (DG) of the Border Security Force (BSF), Daljit Singh Chawdhary, on Tuesday inaugurated the ‘School of Drone Warfare’ at the officers’ training academy of the force in Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh.
A spokesperson of the BSF said, “The School of Drone Warfare will provide special training to the border guarding troops of the force in combating modern strategic challenges in warfare. It will provide special training to the border guarding troops of the force in combating modern strategic challenges.”
He added, “The institute will prepare drone commandos and drone warriors through five special courses that include unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations, anti-drone warfare, and surveillance and intelligence gathering.”
According to the officials, the school has simulators and live drone flying zones, facilities for payload integration in UAVs and night operations, tools for radio frequency (RF) jammers and kinetic interceptors, apart from linked hardware and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.
Addressing the troopers after inaugurating the school, the BSF DG spoke about the ongoing three-year-long Russia-Ukraine war, where drones have played an important role, apart from some other battles, and the strategic takeaways from Operation Sindoor conducted by India against Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack, the official said.
Chawdhary also spoke about the role of AI and machine learning (ML) in combat, proactive and weaponised drone use for decisive outcomes, the importance of FPV (first person view related to remote piloting of Kamikaze drones), and strategic changes in national policies, he said.
Eighteen BSF troops, during Independence Day in August, were awarded gallantry medals for displaying “bravery” and “unmatched valour” during Operation Sindoor. These included two personnel who were decorated with the military-issued Vir Chakra posthumously.
It is to be noted that BSF troopers also tackle Chinese-made Pakistani drones that allegedly smuggle drugs, weapons, and ammunition into India from across the international border on the country's western frontier every day.