Decoded | Use of drones for terrorism

Pushed through in public imagination by Hollywood films and successfully used for terrorism by the Islamic State, drone terror attack made its entry in India in the early hours of Sunday. It cited a Washington Post article that said, “In ­August 2014, the terrorist group began using drones to gather battlefield intelligence and to document the effects of suicide bombings, often broadcasting the videos online to bolster morale, according to the report by ­MEMRI.” “Occasionally the group would strap an explosive onto a small drone and try to land it near a military outpost, as it happened in October when a booby-trapped toy aircraft exploded as Kurdish fighters were examining it near the northern Iraqi city of Irbil.” Earlier in 2013, Al-Qaeda attempted a terror attack using multiple drones in Pakistan without success. Drones are used in both civilian and military fields US used drones to drop bombs in 1991 Gulf War US Air Force’s X-37B space plane is a drone. Drone for terror In 2013, Al-Qaeda attempted drone attacks in Pakistan but failed In 2014, Islamic State used drones in Iraq and Syria Islamic State, Hezbollah, and Pakistan-based terror groups use drones for terrorism Drone attack threat from Pakistan In 2019, India reported 167 drone sightings In 2020, there were 77 drone sightings along border, LoC Punjab Police seized drone-dropped arms in 2019 In June 2020, seizures made in Punjab, Jammu In January 2021, J&K Police held 2 receiving drone delivery of arms Why drones are difficult to detect? Surveillance and radar systems are meant for larger objects Drones could be as small as 2 feet in size Laser-based Directed Energy Weapons are being developed DRDO has made two DEWs but mass production is yet to begin READ | Explained: Saudi Aramco oil facility attacked; what makes drone attacks so dangerous WATCH | Jammu air base attack: What is a drone strike?