Pakistan is finding it very hard to pierce through India’s robust ‘drone, detect, deter, and destroy’ system, developed by Indian defence scientists.
As Pakistan continues to target India with drones along the western border, an indigenous system, developed by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), is thwarting Islamabad’s strikes. It is akin to the famous “Iron Dome” shield used by Israel to thwart rocket attacks by Hamas in Gaza and Houthis in Yemen.
This ground-based, rather invisible system has been effectively knocking out most of the aerial incursions being made by Pakistan using Turkish drones.
In its effort to quickly develop the anti-drone system, DRDO brought together at least four labs specialised in different domains to develop a multi-sensor solution for detection, identification, and neutralisation of such unmanned aerial aircraft.
The outcome of this effort was DRDO’s indigenous solution to combat drone threats- the Drone-Detect, Deter and Destroy (D4) system, which has been successfully inducted into all three services.
General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), speaking at an event of the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies on March 10, emphasised “the transformative impact of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in modern warfare”. He highlighted the key trends -celerity, robotics advancements, and AI-driven intelligence – which are exploited by UAS, making them highly disruptive.
Referencing present-day conflicts, Gen Chauhan had also underscored how drones are reshaping warfare economics with low-cost, high-impact solutions.
Drones are a low-cost way of targeting the enemy and assessing their radar and air defence capabilities. By flying those in hordes, Pakistan is trying to degrade India’s stocks of air defence weapons, but directed energy or laser weapons can be used many times without the fear of them being exhausted.
In the D4 system, detection and identification of drones are achieved by a combination of inputs from radar and radio frequency detection systems and electro-optic identification systems.
A very powerful neutralization system incapacitates drones by soft kill using radio frequency jamming, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) jamming, and Global Positioning System (GPS) spoofing techniques.
Since drones are autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles, they need to know their positions and the end target. This is done by using GPS, and the Indian D4 system is sophisticated to deny these signals or confuse the drones and destroy them mid-flight.
If the soft kill does not work, then a hard kill with high energy-directed energy weapon using powerful lasers is employed. The DRDO’s frontline lab, the Centre for High Energy System & Sciences based in Hyderabad, has played a critical role in its development.
The Indian D4 system can be vehicle or static mounted with an integrated command and control centre. The vehicle-mounted versions are actively used in war-like situations, and the static units are deployed at key military installations.
The static D4 system offers 360-degree coverage and can even shoot down small drones.
According to the DRDO, aligning with the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the D4 system is being manufactured in the country by Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) along with an ecosystem of multiple Indian industries. Its system efficacy against various types of drones has been accepted by multiple security agencies under the Home and Defence ministries and has also been demonstrated to the defence forces of a few other nations.
Multiple labs under the DRDO have helped develop this potent anti-drone system, including the Electronics & Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), Bengaluru; Defense Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL); the Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS), Hyderabad; and Instruments Research and Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun.
The D4 counter-drone system is also being deployed at major national events in the country as part of an advanced security measure.
