Indian Air Force (IAF) chief A.P. Singh, on Friday, said drones and other unmanned aerial systems are no longer just eyes in the sky, but they are akin to "claws in the sky" being an extension of air power.
Speaking at a defence seminar themed on unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and counter-UAS, he pointed out that in the event of a modern aerial threat, complete domain awareness is the key and called for "total coordination" among the three services which will be operating in the same airspace.
"We have seen what happens... if you don't have domain awareness, you don't know where your people are and where others are. We've seen what happened to F-15s in Kuwait. The fratricide part. So we cannot afford to have things like that," the IAF chief said.
He was referring to the incident on March 1 in which three US F-15E Strike Eagles went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire, according to the US CENTCOM.
Pointing out that the battlefield has shifted, he said, "We are shifting totally from those very concentrated air power to a sort of decentralised and autonomous way."
Calling UAS an "extension of air power", he said, "So all the rules of air power will apply when you use the UAS, just remember that. And, they are no more eyes in the sky. They are like claws in the sky now. We have seen it in the recent conflicts that have taken place. And we also realised that during Operation Sindoor, and this part cannot be forgotten."
The IAF chief said counter-drone warfare needs a rethink, as using million-dollar missiles against low-cost drones is unsustainable at scale. He stressed that the response should depend not just on the cost of the incoming threat, but on the value of the target being protected, adding that even high-cost options were used during Operation Sindoor.
The IAF chief said UAS will keep evolving and "we will have to keep studying and adapting ourselves".
