Days after two explosive-laden drones crashed at the high-security Indian Air Force station at Jammu airport, forensic experts have said a mixture of RDX and nitrate was used in IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices).
Officials involved in the investigation told News18 that the first IED, which went off at 1:37 pm, contained a mixture of 1.5 kg of RDX and a nitrate compound, while the second IED had more ball bearings. “It appears that the first IED was designed to damage infrastructure while the second was against personnel,” an official said.
According to sources, the IEDs are sophisticated and appear to have been manufactured by an ordnance factory. “It seems the plan was that the first IED would damage the helicopters while the second would cripple and kill the IAF personnel as they assembled,” an official said. He added, “Such sophistication cannot be the work of a group like Lashkar or Jaish alone.”
The NIA suspects that Pakistani ISI and Rangers may have carried out the blast using Lashkar-e-Taiba as a front. However, officials acknowledged that there is no direct evidence so far. “The study of mobile tower and internet data dump is being done. Lead is expected,” said the sources.
According to preliminary investigation, two pre-programmed drones had two IEDs.
anti drone system
While the investigation is on to trace the conspirators from Jammu, the Center has also given green signal to the purchase of anti-drone technology. The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Industry Security Force (CISF) have been tasked to procure anti-drone systems for the nearly 3,500-km-long international border and civilian airports.
“We have identified important installations and they will be secured first. It is not possible to install an anti-drone system within a range of 3,500 km. It is also expensive,” said a BSF official.
The National Security Guard (NSG) has already deployed its anti-drone artillery at the Jammu airports. “NSG team checked the effectiveness of its anti-drone system in Jammu. Drones were flown and traced. While small drones were detected by radar at a distance of 3 km, medium-sized drones were detected at a distance of 5 km,” an official familiar with the drill told News18.
The paramilitary forces are focusing on both hard kill and soft kill. Officials said laser guns, net catchers and radio frequency jammers are all being procured.
read all Breaking Newshandjob today’s fresh news and coronavirus news Here
.