BHUBANESWAR: With drones and unmanned aerial vehicles beginning to play frontal role in warfare and surveillance as displayed in the latest attacks between India and Pakistan, Odisha Police has begun to deploy high-performance drones to keep a watch from the sky on the state’s 480 km-long coastline.
In the first phase 10 drones have been pressed into service. The drones, equipped with advanced features, are significantly quieter and remain inaudible, sources said.
“A tender was floated and at least seven bidders had participated. An Indian company was awarded the contract which supplied 10 highly sophisticated drones. The drones can record videos and capture images from a height of about 1 km,” said a senior police officer.
The officer said, the drones will be able to identify even the type of boat and how many persons are travelling in it from a distance of about 500 metres. They have high resolution cameras and night vision system, and can travel up to 20 km inside the sea.
Another special feature is that in case of any malfunction, they will not fall from the sky and instead return to the stations from where they were deployed after their sortie is aborted, said sources.
Odisha Police have appointed ex-Indian navy personnel to operate the drones from maritime police stations after giving them proper training. As per the guidelines, marine police stations are supposed to carry out patrolling in the sea up to 12 nautical miles.
“Currently, the patrolling over the state’s very long coastline is not very robust. The drones will tremendously enhance our surveillance and will also save huge expenses incurred towards purchasing the diesel for the patrol boats,” said a senior police officer. Under the Coastal Security Scheme of the Centre, 18 marine police stations were sanctioned for Odisha to strengthen security along its entire coast.