It has been reported by Economic Times that India is planning to set setting up a surveillance system with drones across its borders to wade off surprise attacks like the one from Hamas in Israel.
The country’s defence officials reportedly have met with six Indian vendors of surveillance and reconnaissance drones over the past week and an order is expected to be announced as soon as next month.
The Armed Forces are looking to have the system up and running across some parts of the border as early as May.
Noteworthy that it might take almost 18 months to have the system cover the entire stretch of borders, and could cost as much as $500 million annually.
So-called High-Altitude Pseudo Satellites, which are solar-powered drones that can operate for prolonged durations without landing, will be used for the system.
The 24/7 high-altitude long endurance drones will also act as a back-up to the traditional radar network along the borders, directly beaming images to local command centers.
The drones deployed and the software backing them will be developed locally.
Once the system is up, the entire 14,000 miles (22,531 kilometers) that make up India’s land borders and coastline will be under constant surveillance.
The move to monitor the borders all the time comes as tensions with neighbouring China and Pakistan persist, especially along the Himalayas.
While the war in Ukraine has made Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government re-evaluate its armoury, preparedness for war and priorities on the battlefield, the surprise Hamas attack has pushed the nation to implement some of the suggested measures quickly.
