India preparing for similar scenarios: Expert on Ukraine's drone strikes on Russia
The First-Person View (FPV) drone attacks by Ukraine on Russian airbases are one of the most innovative strategic attacks in recent world conflicts. Indian experts are calling it an eye-opener for several countries, including India.Ammunition, explosives and UAV expert Col Devesh Singh (retd) told India Today TV that India was preparing for future conflicts in similar scenarios with FPV drones, counter drones and air defence innovations. advertisement"The attack by Ukraine was a meticulously planned attack just like the pager attack by Israel on Hezbollah operatives. Ukraine used FPV drones, which are low-cost and high-speed drones, which were concealed in the ceiling of the trucks. Some deep assets of Ukrainian intelligence agencies were definitely operating close to the Russian airbases," he said.
According to him, these drones used optical fibres that gave them an extended range of 18 to 20 kms and were not detected by Russian radars due to their high speed and small size."This is the biggest attack by Ukraine so far and after Operation Sindoor, India is also working on the improvised Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and other air defence systems to remain better prepared for futuristic wars," Col Singh said.Ukraine's Operation Spider's Web has used human intelligence, innovation, planning and technology, but the most important aspect of the operation has been the secrecy that counts for such covert operations.advertisementThe assets destroyed included Tu-95, Tu-22 and AWACS, which were the strategic aircraft of Russia that were being used for long-range strikes against Ukraine.Col Singh pointed out Ukraine's operation was conducted after long planning and the involvement of another country cannot be denied in the military exercise."These attacks launched by Ukraine show the destruction carried out by FPV drones. It means that the Ukrainians wanted to destroy the evidence," he said.Amid recent strategic innovations in warfare, India is also taking its lessons to be ready for future battles. India inducted its first batch of five FPV drones into the Army in March this year. A total of 100 FPVs are to be deployed in the coming years.The FPV drone is equipped with an anti-tank payload. This drone was developed, tested and validated internally in collaboration with the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh.While the current numbers are modest, these developments indicate a strategic shift towards incorporating advanced drone technology into military operations.
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