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By:

Commodore S.L. Deshmukh

31 October 2024 at 8:30:19 am

The Beam That Blinds the Drone

As cheap drones reshape the battlefield, India’s T-SHUL BEAM points to a future in which electronic warfare may matter as much as firepower The drone has definitively become the weapon of choice for the modern battlefield. Cheap, expendable and increasingly autonomous, unmanned aerial vehicles can now threaten troops, armour, airfields and critical infrastructure without requiring the attacker to risk a pilot. Their proliferation has created a corresponding demand for counter-drone systems...

The Beam That Blinds the Drone

As cheap drones reshape the battlefield, India’s T-SHUL BEAM points to a future in which electronic warfare may matter as much as firepower The drone has definitively become the weapon of choice for the modern battlefield. Cheap, expendable and increasingly autonomous, unmanned aerial vehicles can now threaten troops, armour, airfields and critical infrastructure without requiring the attacker to risk a pilot. Their proliferation has created a corresponding demand for counter-drone systems that can respond quickly and at a cost proportionate to the threat. This is where beam-based anti-drone technology enters the picture. Broadly, such systems fall into two categories. Hard-kill systems use concentrated laser energy to physically damage or destroy a drone. Soft-kill systems, by contrast, use radio-frequency or electromagnetic energy to disrupt the electronic links that allow a drone to communicate, navigate and transmit information. Sophisticated Weaponry Hard-kill laser systems focus an intense beam of light on a vulnerable part of an incoming UAV - its carbon-fibre structure, control surfaces, battery or other critical components. The concentrated energy rapidly heats the target, potentially burning through its structure or disabling optical sensors and bringing the aircraft down. India’s DRDO has demonstrated a 30kW laser system, while Israel’s Rafael has developed the Lite Beam system. Soft-kill systems take a different route. Rather than physically destroying the aircraft, they interfere with the electronic architecture that keeps it airborne. Directional radio-frequency energy can disrupt command-and-control links, video feeds, telemetry and satellite-navigation signals such as GPS or other GNSS services. Depending on the drone and the nature of the disruption, the aircraft may be forced to land, return to its launch point or lose control. It is in this category that the T-SHUL BEAM system developed by Indian defence company IG Defence deserves attention. T-SHUL BEAM is a man-portable, directional counter-drone system designed for tactical deployment. Its multi-band radio-frequency architecture is intended to target several of the links on which unmanned aerial systems depend, including command-and-control, telemetry, video transmission and GNSS navigation. Its directional configuration allows an operator to concentrate electronic countermeasures on a particular aerial target rather than indiscriminately radiating energy across a large area. That matters on a battlefield where the warning time against a small UAV or first-person-view drone may be measured in seconds. The appeal of such a system is therefore not simply that it can counter a drone. It is that it can potentially bring counter-drone capability closer to the soldier and to the tactical edge. Large counter-UAS installations have their place, particularly around fixed and high-value assets. But forward units require systems that can move with them, be deployed rapidly and operate against small, low-cost unmanned platforms without imposing the logistical burden associated with conventional weapons. The T-SHUL BEAM’s significance also lies in its proposed integration with an artificial-intelligence-enabled battle-management architecture. IG Drones, the original equipment manufacturer, has stated that T-SHUL BEAM has been integrated with GRID, its indigenous AI-powered platform. The GRID architecture is intended to bring sensors, intelligence systems, unmanned platforms and command elements into a common operational framework. The attraction of such integration is obvious. Countering drones is increasingly less about a single weapon and more about the speed of the kill chain: detecting a threat, identifying it, deciding what response is appropriate and directing that response before the target disappears. An AI-enabled command architecture can potentially improve situational awareness, facilitate real-time threat detection and coordinate different systems operating simultaneously. This is particularly relevant as drone warfare evolves from isolated attacks towards increasingly complex and potentially swarming operations. A battlefield crowded with drones cannot be managed effectively if every sensor and weapon operates as a separate island. The advantage will increasingly belong to forces capable of turning disparate streams of information into a coherent picture and responding at machine speed. The T-SHUL BEAM’s reported demonstration at Pokhran represents another step in India’s attempt to build a domestic ecosystem spanning drones, counter-drones, artificial intelligence and electronic warfare. Counter-drone warfare is likely to be a recurring requirement rather than a niche capability. Importing every component of such an ecosystem would leave India vulnerable to supply-chain disruptions, technology restrictions and foreign-exchange pressures. Indigenous development, even when undertaken by relatively small private-sector companies, can broaden the country’s technological base and give the armed forces greater freedom to adapt systems to their operational requirements. Economics of the Contest Yet the real measure of any counter-drone system will ultimately be operational rather than promotional. Electronic warfare is inherently a contest between countermeasure and counter-countermeasure. Drone designers can alter frequencies, communications protocols, navigation methods and levels of autonomy. A system that is effective against one generation of drones may require modification against the next. The battlefield, in other words, will remain a technological arms race. The economics of the contest nevertheless favour directed-energy and electronic-warfare solutions. A conventional interceptor expends a missile or projectile against each target. A beam-based system can, subject to its power supply, engagement envelope and other operational constraints, engage targets without expending conventional ammunition. The marginal cost of an interception can consequently be dramatically lower. The beam also travels at effectively the speed of light, removing the flight time associated with kinetic interceptors. In densely populated areas or around sensitive infrastructure, bringing down a drone with a projectile can create its own hazards. Electronic disruption, when properly controlled, offers the possibility of neutralising the threat without sending an interceptor crashing back to earth. These advantages should not obscure the limitations. Soft-kill systems depend on the vulnerabilities of the target’s electronic architecture and may be less effective against increasingly autonomous drones that require fewer external communications. Weather, range, power availability, frequency management and the sophistication of an adversary's electronic countermeasures can all affect performance. No single technology is likely to provide a complete answer. The future of counter-drone warfare will therefore belong not to the beam alone but to layered defence combining. The emergence of systems such as T-SHUL BEAM suggests that India is beginning to build the technological pieces of that architecture at home. (The writer is a retired naval aviation officer and a defence and geopolitical analyst. Views personal.)

RSS for use of mother tongue as mode of education

PTI
Mar 21, 2025
4 min read


Bengaluru: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) prefers the mother tongue to be a mode of education and day-to-day communication, Sangh's joint general secretary C R Mukunda said on Friday amid a raging row on the Hindi language and described the debate over delimitation "politically motivated".


The RSS leader also launched a veiled attack against DMK, which has been opposing the three-language formula under the National Education Policy, saying forces challenging national unity were a "matter of worry".


Addressing a press conference on the RSS' top decision-making body --Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) three-day meeting that began here on Friday, Mukunda said "intense discussions on some of the contemporary and burning issues", including Manipur situation and attempts to create the 'North-South divide' in the country, will be held.


The meeting was inaugurated by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.


When asked about the three-language row, Mukanda said the Sangh would not pass any resolution and maintained that the organisation prefers the mother tongue to be a mode of education and day-to-day communication.


On the delimitation debate, he said it was "politically motivated", and the RSS has no say on the number of seats but asserted that forces challenging national unity were a matter of worry.


"As an organisation, we are concerned about the forces which are challenging national unity, especially raising the North-South divide, whether it is about delimitation or languages," Mukunda said.


The RSS volunteers and functionalities of different organisations related to the 'Vichar Parivar' are trying their best to bring harmony, especially in southern states.


He said the meeting will be attended by heads of 32 affiliated organisations of the RSS.


"Manipur has been going through a rough patch for the past 20 months, but there is some hope today. As we go through the decisions of the central government, some of which are political and some of which are administrative, it has raised hopes for the people of Manipur," Mukunda said.


He said the RSS has been analysing the situation and it believes that "it will take a long time for a natural atmosphere to be created".


To a query, Mukunda said efforts are on to bring together the two tribal groups of Meitis and Kukis, which are fighting. He also noted that there is a need to solve many things politically and some decisions have to be taken by the Centre.


"They (Government of India) are doing their work and we are trying to bring communities together. We are trying to achieve some harmony. We held many relief camps," he explained.


President's rule was imposed in strife-torn Manipur on February 13 and the state assembly put under suspended animation, days after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned from his post that led to political uncertainty in the northeastern state.


The Manipur assembly, which has a tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation.


He also said that "as an organisation, we are concerned about the forces which are challenging national unity, especially raising the North-South divide, whether it is about delimitation or languages."


He said RSS volunteers and functionalities of different organisations related to the 'Vichar Parivar' are trying their best to bring harmony, especially in southern states.


To a question on the RSS' stand on the row over language, especially when southern states are saying that their language is being sidelined, Mukunda said the RSS prefers the use of the mother tongue not only for education but also for daily activities.


"RSS has not passed any resolution as to whether there should be a two-language or three-language system. We had passed a resolution earlier on our mother tongue," he said.


The Tamil Nadu government has been opposing the three-language formula under the National Education Policy, claiming that it was an attempt to impose Hindi.


Regarding the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh, Mukunda said the matter would be taken up for discussion in the next three days.


On the National Register of Citizens, he said the RSS opines that there should be an identity of those living in this country, but they will not pass any resolution on it.


On RSS completing 100 years this year, he said the focus will be more on expansion and consolidation than celebration. The top functionaries will also review the social impact of the RSS in bringing a transformation in society.


He said that RSS has grown manifold in the last year.


According to him, the number of Shakhas in Tamil Nadu has crossed 4,000 this year.


Mukunda also claimed that there is resistance to the RSS Shakhas in some places for political and not religious or cultural reasons.


"Presently, there are 83,129 active Shakhas, which is over 10,000 more than what we had last year," he explained. There are daily activities taking place at 51,710 places and weekly activities at 21,936 locations.


He said the RSS viewpoint on the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj was that it has heightened cultural pride and raised the self-confidence of Indians.


"It was a wonderful glimpse of Bharat's spirituality and cultural heritage. The Uttar Pradesh government and the Government of Bharat deserve congratulations for creating and running the whole Kumbh Mela with smooth infrastructure and management," the RSS functionary said.


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