New Delhi (TIP): As part of its post-Operation Sindoor transformation, the Indian Army on Friday announced the raising of a dedicated battalion for drone operations along the western front with Pakistan.
The newly raised unit will operate under the command of the Army’s 11 Corps, headquartered in Jalandhar, Punjab.
The Army has named these dedicated drone-operating units ‘Baaz battalions’ — Baaz means hawk, a bird of prey.
The initiative to raise such dedicated drone-operating battalions was announced earlier this year and is part of the transformation being carried out post-Operation Sindoor.
Sources said the raising had begun over the past couple of months, and the unit at Jalandhar is the first such unit in the state facing Pakistan.
These units will provide frontline Army units with advanced aerial surveillance and situational-awareness tools.
A Baaz battalion could be equipped to operate a range of drones and armed drones.
These include long-range UAVs such as the MQ-9B, being sourced from US company General Atomics; the Heron and Hermes from Israel; the locally produced Ghatak UAV developed by the DRDO; as well as UAVs manufactured by companies such as ideaForge, SMPP and NewSpace Research.
These drones have capabilities for deep-penetration surveillance, targeting and prolonged border monitoring.
The ‘Baaz’ battalions would act as a centralised ‘brain’ to standardise training, manage the high-density technical data streaming from these mixed fleets, and rapidly handle software updates and replenishment cycles required in high-intensity drone warfare.
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