“Drone” the word originated from an Old English word drān which meant a male bee. The British Royal Navy created “Queen Bee” drone in the 1930s, a radio-controlled aircraft, specifically for target practice and training. This marked an early instance of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), laying the groundwork for modern unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
In India, as per the Drone Rules, 2021, it simply means an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) – a broader classification that includes the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), the remote pilot station, command and control data links, and all other associated communication, navigation, and payload systems. The Government of India issued Drone Rules in supersession of the Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2021 under the Aircraft Act, 1934. The Aircraft Act, 1934 provides the overarching legal framework for aircraft operations, including licensing, and safety standards.
In a recent attack by Ukraine against Russia, a very basic equipment drones (FPV) were used. The First-Person View (FPV) drones are lightweight usually under 1 kg and known for its agility and speed. A typical 5-inch FPV quadcopter, including the battery, can weigh between 600-800 grams and typically built to carry compact camera modules (for real-time video transmission) or lightweight explosive charges in combat scenarios, especially in kamikaze or loitering munition roles. FPV drones have a limited payload capacity often between 0.2-2 kg as the weight reduces its capacity, increased payload significantly reduces flight time, stability, and range due to power draw and aerodynamic drag.
Advances in brushless motor technology, lightweight carbon fiber frames, and analog or digital video transmission systems (such as 5.8 GHz analog or DJI HD FPV links) have enabled these drones to perform precision strikes and real-time reconnaissance, despite their simplicity and low cost.
Though the Indian Rules defines various categories of unmanned aircraft system based on the maximum all-up weight including payload, such as Nano unmanned aircraft system (less than or equal to 250 grams), Micro unmanned aircraft system (more than 250 grams up to 2 Kg), Small unmanned aircraft system (2 Kg to 25 Kg), Medium unmanned aircraft system (25 Kg to 150 Kg) and Large unmanned aircraft system (more than 150 Kg).
The UAS rules provide for training and licensing through the DigitalSky Platform, a central online portal in India managed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for regulating drone operations. It facilitates registration, licensing, and permission for drone flights, aiming to ensure safety and efficiency in drone airspace. Our discussion would be restricted to light weight category which is Nano and Micro unmanned aircraft system.
India has vast International Boundary and disputed boundary with its unamicable neighbour countries. The future conflicts will be witnessing important role and rather decisive roles played by the drones. These are the future weapons of both offence and defence. Each unmanned aircraft system would require a trained pilot because the success of operation of Drone depends upon the skillset of the pilot who has been manoeuvring it. The pilot’s ability to interpret telemetry data, dynamically adjust flight parameters, and respond to in-flight anomalies under visual line-of-sight (VLOS), extended VLOS (EVLOS), or beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) conditions is critical to mission reliability. An untrained pilot would be waste of resources and would cause failure of operations, considering the magnitude of the area and span of timeframe the requirement of manpower for any defence system is very large.
It is an appropriate time in India that we should assess our needs and start training our skilful youth in these directions. There is large number of youths which presently into Drone play for fun and some of the young persons are extremely skilful in Drone operations. We must start at least taking stock of these skilful manpower using Private Partnership Model. No one is canvassing that we can handover our security to these unknown and unverified persons but at early stage knowing them and identifying useful resources would give an early start. At eleventh hour of warlike situations, it may be difficult to choose good apples, but a systematic approach now may yield good results. It is also a fact that making permanent recruitment of Drone pilots is not a solution because large number is required only in hot pursuits. A skilful Drone pilot as on today available in India is just to be trained for War skills only and by knowing the war tactics, he becomes a silent soldier to be used just like Territorial Army. Trained Pilots become an important part of pre-mission planning, threat assessment, spectrum management, GNSS-denied navigation (can operate even when Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals are unavailable due to interference, signal blockage, or jamming), and counter-UAS strategies. Let us now possess Territorial Drone Army (TDA) as a part-time voluntary force that supports the Regular force as a secondary line of defence, composed of already trained Drone Pilots who receive military training and serve alongside regular Drone pilots in times of need.
