Page 12 - The Indian EYE 020422

OpINION FEBRUARY 04, 2022 | The Indian Eye 12

Beating Retreat on the Raj Path

and demonstration of India’s

drone Power

Globally, the demonstration of military capabilities through ceremonial parades and drills signifies

the strategic positioning of countries and their military strength and readiness. In the past, India has

avoided displaying its nuclear strength due to geopolitical reasons. However, with the changing dynamics
of the battlefield and the nature of warfare, India has realized the imperative of strategic positioning

SANUR ShARMA based launcher. In June 2019, the US
Defense Advanced Research Proj-
ndia has announced that a novel ects Agency (DARPA) demonstrat-
“Drone Show” comprising 1,000 ed a swarm of autonomous drones
Iswarm drones will light up the sky to analyse, surround and secure a
for about 10 minutes during the Beat- mock city building. The demonstra-
ing Retreat Ceremony on 29 January tion was part of DARPA’s Offensive
2022. It has been designed, concep- Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET)
tualized and produced indigenously programme, which has about 250
under the “Make in India” initiative drones to accompany smaller infan-
by Botlab Dynamics, and has been try units to carry missions in dense
sponsored by the Indian Institute of urban environments.
Technology (IIT) Delhi and the De-
partment of Science & Technology on 15 January 2021, the Indi-
(DST), Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology (MeitY). an army had demonstrated its
With a display of 1,000 indigenously drone power with a display of
produced swarm drones, India would
become the fourth nation to achieve Kamikaze mock attacks and
such a feat, making it a front row ac- first-aid delivery during the
tor with a strong foothold in the field
of drone technology. army day Parade. the 75 in-
The US, Russia and China have digenously developed drones
carried out such swarm drone dis-
plays in the past. In 2020, China had displayed the swarming
tested its swarm drone technology capabilities through an array of
and demonstrated rapid deployment
with intensive launching, hovering, artificial Intelligence enabled
precise formation, inspection and offensive missions.
precision strike. In May 2021, the
Chinese People’s Liberation Army This display contributed 13 tar-
(PLA) showcased various drones like gets at hostile armor mortar posi-
WZ-7 and WZ-8 (Chinese version of tions with troop concentrations, ter-
US R.Q. “Global Hawk”) at the In- ror hideouts, radar sites and helipads
ternational Aviation and Aerospace that were brought down. The drones
Exhibition, also known as the Air- were synchronized with satellite feeds
show China, signalling the increased Around 1,000 Made in India drones rehearse for the Beating Retreat ceremony, at Vijay chowk and area correlation technologies.
importance of drones in its military in New Delhi on Tuesday. (ANI Photo/Rahul Singh) The remarkable thing about these
strategy. According to the Chinese swarm drones was that they were a
media reports and experts, these sur- China showcased drone swarms and The US Navy displayed its offensive heterogeneous swarm equipped with
veillance drones are likely to be used robots leading to speculations about swarm operations with its LOCUST a quadcopter, a six-rotor mothership
over parts of South and East China their possible use during conflicts in (Low-Cost Unmanned Aerial Ve- drone and small quadcopters with
seas and on the borders with India the Taiwan Strait. The US also, in the hicle Swarming Technology) Drone explosives.
and Afghanistan. past, has conducted various demon- Swarm that has the capabilities of
At another PLA drill in May 2021, strations of their drone technologies. firing small UAVs from the tube- Continued at next page... >>

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