Rogue drone hotspots identified in Punjab: BSF ADG

The Border Security Force has identified hotspots of rogue drones coming from Pakistan for smuggling of weapons and drugs, an officer said on Tuesday.

The BSF is deploying an anti-drone system on a massive scale along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab and Jammu to prevent drone infiltration to check smuggling of weapons and drugs from across the border, Additional Director General BSF Western Command Satish S Khandare told reporters here.

The force is also implementing an anti-tunnelling system in Jammu to thwart attempts to smuggle arms and narcotics, he said.

In 2025, Khandare said the BSF's Western Command seized more than 380 kg of heroin and over 200 weapons, discovered 278 rogue drones, and apprehended 53 Pakistani intruders and smugglers.

Khandare said the BSF has set up a drone forensic lab in Amritsar.

''We carry out a forensic analysis of a drone which we recovered to see how many sorties it undertook, from where it flew, and what it dropped. On this basis, we identified hot spots primarily in Punjab and some in Rajasthan,'' he said.

The officer said the BSF tackles hotspots in two ways: one is the anti-drone system, and the second is physical deployment.

''The BSF troops are also manned in depth areas, as we know the consignment from drones will be dropped in depth areas,'' he said.

Khandare said the size of drones and consignments has now reduced ever since they were first detected in Punjab for smuggling drugs in 2019.

''The size of drones and consignment has reduced. Cheap drones are now being used. Earlier, big drones used to come,'' he said.

The officer said that now a drone carries around 500 grams of heroin or a pistol.

''Frequency hopping drones have also come, and it becomes a difficult task to detect drones. Like drone technology is evolving, anti-drone technology also is,'' he said.

Asked about smuggling through a breach in the fence caused by the flood in Punjab, Khandare said it was not possible to go up to the border because of waterlogging.

''It is right that such attempts were made by anti-national elements. The BSF and the Punjab Police conducted an operation in that area and recovered weapons in large numbers.

''But I totally agree with your point that in this situation, with so many gaps, with little manpower at our disposal, it is quite possible that certain gaps may have been exploited by anti-national elements. But we were quick to regain our ground,'' he said.

Khandare said that one-third of the fencing (around 60 km) in Punjab broke because of the floods.

Meanwhile, he said the BSF leverages a mix of indigenous technologies to counter cross-border drone threats along the India-Pakistan border.

The systems integrate multiple sensors, including radar, electro-optical/infrared cameras, and radio frequency analysers to detect, track and neutralise the Pak drones, he said.

He said the BSF will replace the old fence with a new one all along the India-Pakistan border.

''We are strengthening the anti-infiltration grid, especially in Jammu. For that purpose, two additional battalions have been deployed in the Jammu region to prevent infiltration, which is our primary concern,'' he said.

All riverine gaps are being plugged, command posts and a well-lit environment are being created with enough people to stop smuggling, he said.

The BSF Western Command is responsible for border management at the India-Pakistan border along with five frontiers – Kashmir, Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat — and three subsidiary training centres.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)