Armed forces to test drones, counter-drone systems during key exercise in October

New Delhi, Sep 23 (PTI) The Indian military will test the capabilities of some of its drones and counter-drone systems during a mega exercise in the first week of October, with an aim to bolster its air defence system, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Exercise 'Cold Start', hosted by the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), will see the participation of all three services, and will take place five months after India launched Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

It will be held in Madhya Pradesh from October 6-10, sources said.

In his address at a conference on air defence systems here, Air Marshal Rakesh Sinha, Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (OPS) at HQ IDS, also spoke of the lessons drawn from Operation Sindoor and the need to "stay ahead" of the adversary in military thinking and planning.

"What we have seen in Operation Sindoor is a way the battle space or battlefield is evolving. It requires our urgent attention and decisive innovation to deal with this threat that is already looming," he said.

After India's precision strikes on several terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor, several drone attacks were launched as counter-offensives by the Pakistani side, targeting the western sector.

"Operation Sindoor, per se, has given us a warning as well as an opportunity to accelerate our counter-UAS, so that we do not learn the lessons the hard way, when we are faced with the next engagement.

"Therefore, we must turn our lessons into actions, collaboration, innovation and unwavering focus to enhance our operational effectiveness," Air Marshal Sinha said.

Counter-UAS refers to Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems.

The conference hosted in Delhi was themed on 'Counter UAVs & Air Defence Systems: The Future of Modern Warfare' and saw participation of senior military officers, representatives of various firms in the defence industry and domain experts.

A senior official of the HQ IDS said the upcoming exercise is named 'Cold Start'.

Later, interacting with PTI on the sidelines of the event, Air Marshal Sinha said the exercise will be held in the Central Sector and will see participation of all three services.

Besides, industry partners, research and development partners, academia and others will be taking part in the upcoming exercise.

"We will be testing some of our drones and counter-drone systems during this exercise...with an aim to have an air defence system and Counter-UAS that is more robust," Air Marshal Sinha said.

Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit in his address gave references to the recent Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict, the Russia-Ukraine war and how relatively much cheaper drones have played a critical role in inflicting huge damage to expensive military assets of the other side, thus creating an "asymmetric effect" in warfare.

They have created an "innovation adaptation cycle" and the job of the Indian industry, think-tanks and academia should be to think "two steps ahead" to stay ahead of the adversary, as it is "like a game of chess", he said.

On India's proposed air defence system Sudarshan Chakram, he said it will be the "mother of all air defence systems combined together" and will include counter-drone, counter-UAV and counter-hypersonic systems, among others.

The mega exercise in October comes a little over a month after 'Ran Samwad' -- a first-of-its-kind tri-service seminar on war, warfare and warfighting -- was held at the Army War College in Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.

Delivering the plenary address at the military seminar on August 27, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasised the need to remain prepared for new innovations and unforeseen challenges while mastering existing technologies to stay ahead of the curve.

In his address, the HQ IDS official said, "We have seen that drones are no more just supporting tools, but they are a central player in any major conflict." "We saw first-hand how drones shaped the operations...they help in gathering intelligence and conduct kinetic operations. It has also demonstrated that threat from enemy drones, how it can jeopardise force protection, mission success and strategic objectives," Sinha added.

The country's "western adversary, in this field, has adapted quite well", he said, in a reference to Pakistan.

"They have utilised inexpensive commercial platform to carry out reconnaissance, disruption and even carry out direct attacks," Sinha said.

So, swarms, kamikazi drones, persistent ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) from the sky are "no more just possibilities, but they are a reality, as we saw in Operation Sindoor", he cautioned.

He also underscored the need for C-UAS that has a "capability to accurately detect, identify even in a complex electromagnetic environment, and to neutralise proportionally, effectively and without any collateral damage". PTI KND KVK KVK