by Irfan Mahar 3 February 2021
UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) or RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aerial System), commonly known as drones, are used by many countries for civilian, commercial, and military purposes. They are used in particular conditions, such as where a human-crewed flight is considered too risky or difficult. The drone game started by the Bush Administration in Afghanistan and Pakistan after 9/11, and Obama Administration increased drone operations with the highly volatile regions of both countries. With time, drone technology has been getting importance globally in this regard. South Asian countries such as India and Pakistan are also getting much interest in acquiring the latest drone technology from the US, Israel, and China. The Indian government’s “Make in India Initiative” has been encouraging private firms to take an interest in manufacturing unmanned surveillance devices and weapon systems to use its armed forces.
India has been trying to get more sophisticated drone technology in this regard; the present Indian government has conducted agreements and increased cooperation in this field to boost its drone and anti-drone technology. In 2018 and 2020, India conducted a pact with the US by signing The Communications, Compatibility and Security Arrangement (COMCASA) and The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA). These pacts allow India to access advanced military platforms by acquiring the developed armed drones and real-time exchange of geopolitical intelligence. Apart from this, New Delhi and Washington also agreed to develop small-sized drone swarms that aim to destroy an enemy’s air defence systems.
These moves to develop drone and anti-drones technology by the Indian side disturb the balance of power in the South Asian region as described by Bary Buzan in regional security complex theory where one state’s security is interlinked with another one, particularly arch-rival countries such as India and Pakistan. In such a situation, Indian increasing inclination towards acquiring the sophisticated and latest drone technology and investing massive amounts through signing agreements with many countries such as Russia, Israel, and the USA, pose serious threats to the security of Pakistan. In this regard, Pakistan has made its first armed drone named Burraq, sophisticated in military capabilities. Moreover, Pakistan has been showing its inclination towards China to counter the Indian threats. To make their friendship more strong and liable, both the nations in 2019 agreed to a framework of signing an agreement regarding sells of drones to Islamabad and collaboration in making drones. China agrees to sell 50 drones to Pakistan; the news was publicized by China’s state media of supplying 50 Wing Loong II armed drones. Besides, it is reported that Pakistan has shot down many Indian spy drones within Pakistani territory only in the year 2020.
In this regard, with the cooperation and collaboration of China, Pakistan advances the anti-drone technology as it can better defend itself from any Indian action. Being traditional enemies, both the nations always remain under threat from each other. India has invested a huge amount of money in acquiring drones from many countries such as Israel and Russia. Islamabad always remains volatile from New Delhi’s governments; therefore, for creating the balance of power, it becomes out of options except acquiring drones from friend nations and going for anti-drone technology to defend itself from the attacks by the strong enemy. The Indian government’s actions and policies currently portray offensive and threatening behavior towards its neighbours, particularly Pakistan. Keeping in view the staggering threat from the Indian side, Pakistan’s defense policy mostly remains indo-centric.
Over time, the growing technical expertise and development of various products have also boosted the usage of drone technology in multiple sectors such as wars, agriculture, media, construction, sports, and conflicts between countries. Available literature and data show that the countries that have remained enemies to each other have spent a huge amount over acquiring drone and anti-drone technology to make their defence mechanism more strong and advanced. Along with this, such nations’ major usage of this technology remains in the war field, conflicts, and bordering regions for surveillance as well as attacking the enemy’s hideouts. Pakistan and India have remained arch-rival to each other, and both nations have been trying to acquire the latest technology as it could be used when needed.
Furthermore, airspace’s dominance carries much importance in current times because of the changing nature of warfare. In this regard, drone technology development and the increasing usage of drones in multiple sectors have compelled scientists to search for anti-drones technology. Therefore various countries such as the USA, Israel, Russia, and China have worked a lot. Moreover, these countries have been working hard to develop more sophisticated anti-drone technology. This also provokes rival countries, for instance, India and Pakistan, to indulge in an unending war of technology for their dominance and defense.