J&K: Pakistani drone shot down in Jammu
Jammu, July 31
The army shot down a suspected Pakistani drone on Friday in the Khour border area of J&K's Jammu district.
Officials said the army recovered the drone after it was shot down during an operation in Chakla village of Khour area in Jammu district.
They said the drone was spotted hovering over Chakla village, which falls under the jurisdiction of Police Station Khour.
"On noticing the uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV), troops of Gorkha Rifles (GR) opened fire, bringing down the drone. The army and the area successfully recovered the drone, which has been secured for further examination. Security forces have launched an investigation to ascertain the origin, purpose and technical details of the recovered drone," officials said.
Drones are being used by handlers of terror outfits from across the border with the assistance of Pakistani forces to drop weapons, cash and drugs on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB).
The payloads dropped by these drones are usually picked up by Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of terror outfits to be passed on to terrorists to carry out subversive activities.
Pakistan's military intelligence (ISI) and terrorist organisations use a variety of UAVs to smuggle weapons, explosives, narcotics and funding into Jammu and Kashmir. This strategy is designed to bypass the highly secured LoC and IB while avoiding direct cross‑border infiltration footprints.
Various types of drones used by terrorist outfits for this purpose include:
Commercial Chinese quadcopters and hexacopters, the most frequently recovered models by the security forces, modified with custom payload‑dropping mechanisms
Large hexacopters/octacopters, multi‑rotor systems with larger chassis used specifically for heavy payloads like assault rifles, ammunition and sophisticated IEDs
Military‑grade and tactical UAVs, including specialised tactical drones such as Turkish Asisguard Songar armed drones and other tube‑launched or fixed‑wing military surveillance UAVs
Intercepted payloads have included US‑made M4 carbine rifles, AK‑47s, Chinese grenades, pistols and thousands of ammunition rounds.
Drones are also used for narco‑terrorism funding, ferrying commercial‑grade narcotics like heroin into border districts such as Samba, Kathua and Rajouri. Local handlers sell these drugs to fund terror modules and recruitment.
ISI and outfits like Lashkar‑e‑Taiba (LeT) and Jaish‑e‑Mohammed (JeM) deploy spy quadcopters to conduct real‑time surveillance of Indian troop deployments, helping guides plan infiltration routes.
Drones have also been used to drop sophisticated IEDs equipped with pressure fuses, a technology linked to Pakistani military expertise used in high‑profile perimeter attacks.
— IANS
Reader Comments
I'm just a regular citizen, but I find it alarming how sophisticated these operations are getting. Turkish Asisguard drones, US-made M4 rifles, Chinese grenades... They're shopping around globally to arm our enemies. Pakistan's desperation is showing, but it's getting riskier. I hope we escalate our own tech—maybe more swarms of our own drones to intercept these.
Every time I read about drones crossing over, I wonder why we don't use more electronic jamming or laser-based countermeasures. The army is doing a great job shooting them down, but shooting pellets at these things is like swatting flies with a stick. We need a proper anti-drone grid along the border. Still, any win is a win. Well done, soldiers.
It's scary to think that these drones are now the new normal for smuggling and terror activity. But I'm glad our armed forces are alert and proactive. Hope the investigation team reveals who exactly sent this one—maybe let the international community see the evidence. 💪
Nice work by the army but what's the deal with the "suspected" word? Just call it out - it's Pakistani. Pakistan keeps playing games with drones; they send weapons, drugs and try to fund terror. We need stronger border security and maybe even start shooting down drones beyond our airspace if needed. Jai Hind.
Every day these drone sightings happen, but we don't hear about the OGWs being caught as much. We should
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