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BSF deploys drone-mounted radars to check for under-ground tunnels along border with Pakistan | India News
NEW DELHI/JAMMU: Drone-mounted ground penetration radars have been deployed for the first time by the Border Security Force (BSF) to check for the presence of underground tunnels being used by attackers. used by terrorists to penetrate the India-Pakistan International Border in the Jammu area, officials said.
Recently, indigenous-made technical equipment has been put into operation on this front as part of underground tunnel detection exercises conducted by the force to ensure there are no terrorists. Any terrorist can sneak into Indian territory and launch attacks in Jammu and Kashmir or any other place of the country. These structures have also been used to smuggle drugs, weapons, and ammunition.
BSF has excavated at least 5 underground tunnels in about 192 km of Jammu front (of Indo-Pakistan IB) in the past three years.
According to official data, two such cross-border tunnels were discovered in 2020 and 2021, while one was found last year and all of them were discovered in the Indreshwar Nagar area of Jammu .
“The Force has acquired a clever engineering tool to counter the threat posed by underground tunnels that have been reported frequently along the Jammu area of India-Pakistan IB. More than one ground penetration radar Mounted drones have been deployed in the area to inspect these secret structures used by terrorists to infiltrate India from Pakistan,” a senior BSF official told. PTI.
Officials working on the ground say the radars currently deployed have been developed by an Indian manufacturer and they work by emitting powerful radio waves to check for the presence of tunnels. below the ground and map their path. Although the specifics of the radars could not be disclosed, new tools have been added to the BSF’s surveillance equipment to assist ground forces in conducting anti-tunnel exercises.
Officials say its effectiveness is currently being studied.
Radars are mounted on the drones to help them better reach such terrain along this front, which is difficult for ground teams to reach, they said. Normally, monitoring of hidden tunnels is done within about 400 meters of the border fence.
BSF anti-tunnel surveillance teams remotely control the drones as they go out to scan a specific area ahead, and they back up the ‘flying radar’ using a traditional tunnel inspection system with the help of handheld worm detectors and mine detectors, they said.
“One problem these radars have is the amount of dust generated by the drones’ flight, and they clash with the radio waves emitted by the radars to scan the earth below. This is a step forward. The new head and tool is still to be called precise,” another officer said.
The ground force’s conventional tunnel inspection system is also being followed. The “man behind the machine” concept will always be the most important tool despite having the best technical equipment available, said the official working along the Jammu front.
Jammu IB is 192 km long– out of a total of 2,289 km that runs towards Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat– tends to have both old or inactive tunnels and newly dug tunnels due to the loose soil structure of the area and The BSF, tasked with protecting this front, has discovered nearly ten such structures over the past decade here. Tunnels pose a great threat to counter-terrorism operations because sneaking terrorists from the ground is very difficult to detect compared to penetrating from the ground by sliding through areas. riverside no fence or break the fence. “The BSF along with other security stakeholders can claim that there has been no intrusion from across the border unless someone can prove it. Underground tunnels are a route of terror. the second needs to be effectively intercepted,” said the senior Jammu-based officer.
Recently, indigenous-made technical equipment has been put into operation on this front as part of underground tunnel detection exercises conducted by the force to ensure there are no terrorists. Any terrorist can sneak into Indian territory and launch attacks in Jammu and Kashmir or any other place of the country. These structures have also been used to smuggle drugs, weapons, and ammunition.
BSF has excavated at least 5 underground tunnels in about 192 km of Jammu front (of Indo-Pakistan IB) in the past three years.
According to official data, two such cross-border tunnels were discovered in 2020 and 2021, while one was found last year and all of them were discovered in the Indreshwar Nagar area of Jammu .
“The Force has acquired a clever engineering tool to counter the threat posed by underground tunnels that have been reported frequently along the Jammu area of India-Pakistan IB. More than one ground penetration radar Mounted drones have been deployed in the area to inspect these secret structures used by terrorists to infiltrate India from Pakistan,” a senior BSF official told. PTI.
Officials working on the ground say the radars currently deployed have been developed by an Indian manufacturer and they work by emitting powerful radio waves to check for the presence of tunnels. below the ground and map their path. Although the specifics of the radars could not be disclosed, new tools have been added to the BSF’s surveillance equipment to assist ground forces in conducting anti-tunnel exercises.
Officials say its effectiveness is currently being studied.
Radars are mounted on the drones to help them better reach such terrain along this front, which is difficult for ground teams to reach, they said. Normally, monitoring of hidden tunnels is done within about 400 meters of the border fence.
BSF anti-tunnel surveillance teams remotely control the drones as they go out to scan a specific area ahead, and they back up the ‘flying radar’ using a traditional tunnel inspection system with the help of handheld worm detectors and mine detectors, they said.
“One problem these radars have is the amount of dust generated by the drones’ flight, and they clash with the radio waves emitted by the radars to scan the earth below. This is a step forward. The new head and tool is still to be called precise,” another officer said.
The ground force’s conventional tunnel inspection system is also being followed. The “man behind the machine” concept will always be the most important tool despite having the best technical equipment available, said the official working along the Jammu front.
Jammu IB is 192 km long– out of a total of 2,289 km that runs towards Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat– tends to have both old or inactive tunnels and newly dug tunnels due to the loose soil structure of the area and The BSF, tasked with protecting this front, has discovered nearly ten such structures over the past decade here. Tunnels pose a great threat to counter-terrorism operations because sneaking terrorists from the ground is very difficult to detect compared to penetrating from the ground by sliding through areas. riverside no fence or break the fence. “The BSF along with other security stakeholders can claim that there has been no intrusion from across the border unless someone can prove it. Underground tunnels are a route of terror. the second needs to be effectively intercepted,” said the senior Jammu-based officer.
