Seconds after the fowl of prey soars underneath the blue Telangana skies, the “hunt” is over and it’s on the bottom with its “prey” — a rogue drone ensconced in a internet that the eagle has been educated to deploy as a part of its coaching for the Garuda Squad, the state police’s distinctive fowl squad.
Among the many newest additions to the Telangana Police safety equipment, the five-bird squad has been present process coaching to intercept nano (weighing as much as 250 grams) and micro (between 250 g and a pair of kg) rogue drones, particularly in no-fly zones throughout VIP motion. The squad’s main function is to safe no-fly zones, say trainers.
Deployed lately, the Garuda Squad has proved to be cost-effective and environment friendly in counter-attacking small drones (costing round Rs 1 lakh), which have grow to be a headache for safety forces as a result of their measurement and maneuvering talents.
By instructing the birds to deploy nets, the Telangana Police has taken care of a crucial concern — the protection of its squad from the spinning propellers of rogue drones as they’re intercepted.
“The coaching course of concerned a variety of trial and error, however no birds had been harmed within the course of. As an alternative of the fowl seizing the drone instantly, they’ve been educated to deploy a internet, ensnare the drone and drag it to a safe, predetermined location, away from public areas,” says Tafseer Iqubal, Deputy Inspector Common, Intelligence Safety Wing.
Stating that Telangana is now prepared to help or share its data and capabilities with different police departments and safety forces throughout the nation, Iqubal says, “The Garuda Squad, the first-of-its-kind, was conceptualised in 2021, following a state authorities order. Three years on, it has achieved operational readiness and is presently being utilised on a pilot foundation.”
Just lately, Union Residence Minister Amit Shah had spoken about the necessity to set up a “complete” anti-drone unit to guard the nation from threats posed by drones. Shah was referring to a laser-equipped anti-drone gun mount system that has been developed, particularly for border areas.
Nonetheless, coaching the squad, which includes kites and eagles, was simpler stated than achieved. “There have been challenges, as a result of these are birds and never machines. However the Garuda Squad is operationally prepared for deployment now. We’ve been utilising their providers for some time,” says Iqubal, director, Built-in Intelligence Coaching Academy (IITA), Telangana’s premier establishment that gives knowledgeable coaching in canine dealing with, bomb detection and disposal methods, and specialised instruction for each private safety officers (PSOs) and personal safety companies.
On the sight of an aerial intruder, a fowl is launched from its location to grab from the skies the rogue drone — simply as it might its prey.
“As a complicated coaching measure, the workforce has been acclimatising the birds to totally different situations, together with crowd and noise ranges that they might encounter in real-life conditions,” says an officer.
As Okay Aravind Rao, Deputy Superintendent of Police, IITA, reiterates that the fowl squad provides “an environment friendly and cost-effective different”, Alladi Nagesh, who heads the workforce of trainers — Mohammad Fareed and Abir Bandari — says the species chosen for the squad are “aerial hunters with a killer intuition”.
Totally different birds have been designated for various functions relying on their nature, measurement, flying sample, searching model and talent. For example, kites are used for aerial surveillance as a result of their capacity to fly at nice heights with stability. “Cameras have been connected to the kite for such surveillance. In addition to offering extraordinarily steady visuals, they go unnoticed within the skies,” say officers, including that eagles have been deployed for an assault over a brief distance.
Yet one more fowl on the squad — officers declined to disclose the species — is finest fitted to long-range sniper-like assaults. Nagesh, who heads the workforce of fowl trainers, says the squad’s “sniper” can hit a pace of 390 miles per hour (roughly 620 km per hour), one thing a drone can’t obtain even whereas attempting to evade a success.
Nagesh provides, “The birds are recognized whereas nonetheless younger and educated identical to a canine — through the use of feeding as incentive. GPS trackers are connected to the birds so we don’t lose them. They’re given coaching in several real-life situations involving public tackle techniques and loud music, to arrange them for varied operational environments.”
Speaking a couple of “key limitation”, officers say the birds are unable to differentiate between authorised drones and the rogue ones.
Calling the inclusion of birds in safeguarding the nation’s inside safety a “welcome” transfer, Rajeev Khandelwal, common secretary, Hyderabad Birding Buddies, an NGO devoted to selling birdwatching throughout Telangana, says, “So long as the birds are educated ethically, internationally set norms are adopted, and they aren’t harm or tortured and allowed to fly freely, it’s a incredible transfer.”
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