In the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, the significance of drone attacks and the need to counter them was underlined by the Indian defence and security establishments, especially after a volley of drones was operated from Pakistan during the offensive.
Sources in the establishment told The Tribune that, as a major border management initiative, the requirement for counter-drone tactics had been amplified, especially in the Punjab and north Rajasthan sectors along the Pakistan border.
Consequently, in September 2025, just months after Operation Sindoor, the Border Security Force (BSF) established the BSF Drone Warfare School at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh.
Officials said the institution’s core focus is on enhancing border security against aerial threats. It trains BSF personnel not only in flying drones, but also in anti-drone operations, with special emphasis on AI-driven technology to combat narcotics and weapons smuggling, while preparing personnel for future aerial combat.
After the Pahalgam terror attack and the military offensive under Operation Sindoor, the threat posed by AI-enabled drones was realised and the school was a result of that assessment. The need to train border-guarding personnel in anti-drone operations, apart from their traditional duty of keeping vigil and surveying border areas, has also been recognised, sources said.
Apart from this, counter-infiltration measures have been strengthened. Work on these measures had been under way for the past two years, but was fast-tracked after the military offensive, they added.
The modernisation of the border management system, initiated a couple of years ago, had shown results when the BSF destroyed Pakistan’s surveillance system during Operation Sindoor.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also referred to it. “When Pakistan attacked our residential areas in retaliation to the Army’s strikes on terrorists in Pakistan, BSF personnel in the Jammu frontier destroyed and damaged over 118 Pakistani posts. BSF dismantled Pakistan’s entire surveillance system,” he had said.
While training in advanced weaponry and new technological advancements in warfare within the paramilitary set-up is being emphasised, the need to enhance manpower and field strength has also been highlighted.
Officials, requesting anonymity, said additional or reserve strength was needed in the forces to handle new technological advancements and provide effective backup to existing personnel. They said that this would strengthen ground offensive operations.
