DPA set to become first Indian Port to get anti-drone system
GANDHIDHAM : Gujarat’s Kandla is set to become the first port to set up an Anti-Drone Surveillance and Neutralisation System, which can detect enemy drones from a distance and “soft-kill” them. The port, which is located in the Gulf of Kutch, is in close proximity to the country’s border with its neighbour, Pakistan.
Sushil Kumar Singh, Chairman of Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) at Kandla, told , “Kandla will be the first port to set up an anti-drone system that will have the ability to soft kill or neutralise (enemy) drones.”
The anti-drone systems are set to be procured months after Operation Sindoor, the military action carried out by the Indian Armed Forces on May 7, targetting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation was launched in response to the deadly April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
Singh added that the system will safeguard the vital port installations, workers, and cargo during high alerts or situations of conflict.
“We have one of the biggest tank farms consisting of 1,200 storage tanks that hold hazardous and toxic chemicals like acids and ammonia, edible oil. Any leakage in these tanks can cause a dangerous situation. Last time drones were spotted in this region and so the plan is to install a system that can detect enemy drones from far and jam its signals thus ensuring a soft kill,” Singh added.
The project, worth about Rs 580 million ($6.6 million), includes four anti-drone surveillance and neutralisation systems that will be installed in an area covering 200 acres of Kandla port and the tank farms. Along with stationary radars and other drone detection equipment, these four stations will also have control rooms for conducting operations. The anti-drone system has the ability to spot and neutralise enemy drones from a distance of about 15 kilometres. The DPA had floated an Expression of Interest (EoI) to procure the system, following which five companies showed interest. The companies include those who tried out their anti-drone systems during Operation Sindoor.