As drones are increasingly being used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and for other illegal activities apart from precision strikes, the Indian Army has taken upon itself the responsibility to monitor flying objects within 35 kilometres from the borders and up to a height of three kilometres.
The move comes in the wake of the four-day military stand-off between India and Pakistan in May of 2025, during which the latter used unarmed reconnaissance drones, loitering munitions, and armed UAVs like Turkish Bayraktar TB2, Songar, Chinese CH-4, Wing Loong II, Burraq, and Shahpar for ISR, swarm attacks, radar mapping, and potential strikes on military sites.
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China too extensively deploys drones along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for surveillance, reconnaissance, and potential strike missions.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, the Indian Army is conducting 97 per cent of drone and anti-drone operations within the aforementioned space.
The Army is setting up command and control centres along its borders with both Pakistan and China to monitor any such activities involving drones and also neutralise drones.
According to the report, plans are on to acquire the capacity to operate as many as 10,000 drones along the western theatre and more than 20,000 drones along the line of Actual control.