By IANS,
Bangalore : India is set to develop electronic warfare technologies to help paramilitary and police fight the Maoists and terrorists, a defence scientist said Wednesday.
“We have created a separate chief controller (research and development) for low intensity conflict to identify electronic warfare technologies that can be customised to help paramilitary and police meet internal security needs,” Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Chief Controller Research and Development (Avionics) G. Elangovan told reporters on the margins of a conference here.
Electronic warfare uses electromagnetic spectrum to thwart enemy plans from air, sea, land and space with manned and unmanned systems such as radars, night-vision devices, thermal imagers, handheld radios and bomb detection kits and meet the needs of the security forces.
The DRDO plans to involve the private sector in co-developing niche products required for low-intensity conflict with anti-national elements within the country.
For the armed forces, the state-run Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) and Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) develop electronic warfare technologies and the state-run Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) manufactures surveillance products. The DRDO is the parent body of all these three manufacturers.
“At a meeting held recently in Delhi, we invited the various security agencies to ascertain their requirements and develop products to enable them counter the internal threats from adversaries,” Elangovan said at the second three-day international conference on electronic warfare being held here.
With the Maoists and terrorists having access to latest technologies to unleash mayhem on unsuspecting people, the DRDO has set up a core team to identify user requirements.
Among the products that the DRDO will focus include foliage penetration radars through imaging systems, improved sensors and protection systems.