Army training black kites and dogs with mounted surveillance cameras and GPS; they have a special task
Asianet News Network has boots on the ground covering Yudh Abhyas 2022, the Indo-US military exercise. Here's a special report on the Army's project to train black kites and dogs, which was initiated in 2020 after the western border witnessed a meteoric rise in drone incidents.
FollowAs part of its enhancing surveillance and counter-drone capabilities along the northern as well as western borders, the Indian Army has begun training black kites and dogs at its Meerut-based Remount Veterinary Corps Centre. At the Auli military station in Uttarakhand, the troops of India and the United States have been conducting joint exercise 'Yudh Abhyas', wherein the Indian Army has demonstrated pairs of black kites and dogs.
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The black kite has been equipped with a mounted surveillance camera and geo-positioning system tracker in the leg that gives real-time information to the handler on the ground when the bird is in the sky.
During the exercise, a quadcopter was seen flying in the exercise area; the handler deployed the kite in the sky. The bird swooped upon the quadcopter and hit it with its claws, forcing it to fall.
An Indian Army official said: "The project is under trial and for the first time been used in any exercise." He also added that several European countries and the United States use birds for surveillance and interception.
After successful validation, the trained black kites will be deployed along the borders to keep a tab on flying objects trying to sneak into the Indian territory.
In the recent past, a number of drone infiltration cases have been reported along the international boundary in Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir.
At Yudh Abhyas 2022 exercise, two black kites have been deployed. Several others are expanding their wings and will be operational in the time to come.
Sources in the Indian Army said: "The black kite does not come under the endangered species and the reason why it has been chosen. It is a bird of prey which has an innate instinct to attack a flying object."
The canine is of German Shepherd breed and has been trained in such a way that it alerts the troops or handler about the flying object. Dogs have better capability to hear sounds than human beings. The dog barks when he hears the sound and alerts the handler about it.
The project to train the black kites and dogs was initiated in 2020 after the western border witnessed a meteoric rise in drone incidents.
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