Brig Anil Gupta
In a recent incident Pakistan claimed to have shot an Indian spy drone and also blamed India for violating its air space. Despite strong denial by India, Pakistan insisted and released the photos of downed drone. This exposed the Pak bluff to the entire world as the drone claimed to have been shot down by the Pakis was of Chinese origin. India does not have any Chinese origin drones in her inventory. Did the Pakis shoot down one of their own drones for reasons best known to them or was it a non-military drone which are available off the shelf? Though Pakistan had to eat a humble pie the mystery still remains shrouded. The common perception is that drone is a very secretive aircraft used for spying or targeted killings. As on today it appears to be quite close to the mark because very little information about drones is available in the open domain. The belief is further strengthened due to frequent use of drones in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq and Pakistan by the US for aerial surveillance and targeted killings. The drone is considered by a common man as a deadly means of delivering death on the battlefield. But contrary to the popular belief that use of drones is limited to aerial reconnaissance and cloak-and-dagger operations, it is a lesser known fact that drones can also be used to deliver gifts or your favourite pizza at your doorstep.
Drones are also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPV), Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). They could be either controlled by ‘pilots’ from the ground or autonomously following a preprogrammed course. They are very cheap compared to military aircraft and helicopters and can stay aloft for many hours unlike manned aircraft. They come in varying sizes from as small as a football to as big as a micro lite aircraft and are capable of flying /operating under adverse weather conditions, 24×7 at varying altitudes and ranges (radius of action). They are capable of carrying varying payloads depending on the mission. They are categorized into different types based on their role, namely, Reconnaissance and Surveillance drones; Armed drones; Dummy drones (targets for military training); Civil or Commercial drones.
With the convergence of various technologies drones are capable of being employed for commercial or non-military applications. In fact, considering that they minimize human error and are capable of staying aloft for considerable hours, have long reach, are comparatively cheaper and need minimum infrastructure, their employment for plenty of civilian uses is on the horizon. These uses could be broadly classified into Civil or Commercial.
Drones can be employed by the State to provide better amenities to its citizens and also for enhancing public security. The police can use drones for protecting the public from threats such as terrorist attacks and crime, traffic management, crowd/ mob control, coastal monitoring, border management, anti-Maoists operations, anti-poaching, protection against illegal excavations. As an “eye in the sky” police could effectively employ drones for policing and law-enforcement tasks. The Coast Guard could employ them for coastal monitoring as well as anti- piracy operations and search and rescue operations (SAR).
The civil administration can employ the drones for monitoring natural disasters like hurricanes, Tsunami, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions and for disaster relief. Drones can be employed to spy on storms as they evolve. They are capable of reaching and staying for long in stormy areas that manned planes cannot thus performing valuable surveillance. The drones can also be effectively employed for monitoring unnatural disaster mitigation such as nuclear accidents, wild fire, air crashes, train/ other accidents in remote or far flung areas. Another major role that can be performed by the drones is for Conservation and Environment research to include wildlife protection, monitoring of rare species, wildlife census- survey and document the wildlife, for monitoring of nesting sea birds on remote islands, forest cover, monitoring of lakes and glaciers and monsoon forecast.
The drones can also be put to multifarious commercial uses. The recent announcement of Amazon, the largest on-line seller in USA, to launch “Octocopter” drones for speedy delivery of newly purchased goods in as little as half an hour has led to a race in “delivery” methods in the commercial world. Delivery of Pizzas, grocery and other goodies speedily at your doorstep beating the traffic jams and distances is soon going to be a reality. Drones will also be used for swift delivery of life-saving drugs and vaccinations to hard-to-reach locations. The use of drones for agriculture and farming is also being envisaged. Presently satellites are being used for “3-D Mapping”. Instead drones can be used for survey of landscapes and their multitude digital imagery that can be stitched together into 3-D maps.
Drone based commercial video and photo services for businesses and individuals is going to take ad filming and film making to a different level of technology. Drones will replace manned helicopters for making TV commercials, serials as well as commercial films. The electronic media will also witness a change when drones equipped with cameras will replace huge and expensive news helicopters to provide fast and real time news. Another path breaking use of technology will be the use of drones for spreading the reach of wireless internet. The future belongs to the internet and no nation can claim to be developed without the spread of internet services through its length and breadth. The solar drones which can reportedly stay airborne for five years could be used as wireless access points. It would assist in providing wireless internet to the remote parts.
Oil industry could use the drones for inspecting pipe lines and oil rigs. They could also be used for monitoring oil leaks as well as patrolling offshore oilfields on a regular basis. They could also act as force multipliers for ensuring security of offshore assets. There are many other non-military applications for which the drones can be employed, in fact sky is the limit.
The safety and regulatory considerations have restricted the use of non-military drones so far. But considering the tremendous cost-cutting and security benefits provided by the drones, the day of their commercial exploitation is not very far. A very fine air space management will be needed to avoid confusion in the air. It is for this reason that non-military UAVs have been kept out of the skies. Also some fear that private drones could also be evasive. Laws would have to be framed and a regulatory authority put in place to ensure fair and optimum utilization of drones for improving the quality of life. In keeping with the Prime Minister’s “Make in India” mission, the Indian industry with the help of Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and in-house R&D should strive to launch home-made commercial drones.
(The author is a Jammu based political analyst and defence and security expert. He can be contacted at anil5457@gmail.com).
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