Bangladeshi Bayraktar UAVs spotted along India-Bangladesh border

Guwahati: In what has raised serious security concern, the border guarding agencies have detected movement of several Bangladeshi Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), flying close to Sohra and Shella in Meghalaya since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh.

Pointing out that these UAVs flew in the airspace north of Chhatak and Sunamganj in Bangladesh, approximately 200 meters south of the zero line, security sources said that the Indian Airforce has taken note and intensified the air surveillance along the 443 km Meghalaya stretch of the India-Bangladesh border.

Security sources said that one of the UAVs, identified by its transponder code TB2R1071, was reportedly operated from the Tejgaon Airbase in Bangladesh.

Meghalaya DGP Idashisha Nongrang said they have already taken up the matter with BSF and IAF while refusing to divulge any follow-up action. “These UAVs fly very high and it is not possible to see them with naked eyes,” security sources said, adding that the Bangladeshi Bayraktar UAV was detected by the Indian Air Force (IAF) radar.

Informing that the BSF doesn’t have the equipment to deal with such high-altitude drones, security sources said that only IAF radar can detect these high-flying UAV used for surveillance. “The IAF would take up the matter with the Bangladeshi authorities,” security sources indicated.

Security sources were of view that this is not an isolated incident. Similar UAV activity was detected close to the West Bengal border, highlighting a pattern of increased drone movements along the international border with Bangladesh. It is significant that similar drones have also been spotted in South Tripura and Western Mizoram, raising concerns about a coordinated effort to monitor Indian territory, security sources said.

In the wake of ongoing unrest and political instability in Bangladesh, the security sources said that the sighting of Bangladeshi Bayraktar UAVs near Meghalaya’s border underscores the evolving nature of security challenges in the region. While the surveillance drones have yet to directly violate Indian airspace, their proximity to the international border calls for vigilance and a proactive steps of India, security sources said while admitting that these developments are alarming.