Two armed drones targeted Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq on Tuesday, the base hosts U.S forces and other international forces. It was the second attack against U.S. forces in Iraq since early February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped attacking U.S. troops. In April, two drones were shot down near Ain al-Asad base, according to a U.S. official.
No casualties have been reported, said the sources. An Iraqi military official said defence systems downed one drone near the base perimeter. Iraqi army patrols stepped up patrolling the areas around the base to prevent possible further attacks, said an Iraqi army official. The attack came less than a week before an expected visit by a high-level Iraqi military delegation to Washington to continue talks on ending the U.S.-led military coalition in the country.
Washington and Baghdad in January initiated talks to reassess the draw-down of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, formed in 2014 to help fight Islamic State after the extremist Sunni Muslim militant group overran large parts of the country. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a projectile appears to have targeted the base, but without causing casualties.
Current conflicts have proved that drone warfare is hugely relevant and calls for investment. From tanks to artillery, and even individual soldiers are being taken out by drones in the conflict. Places previously considered safe can no longer be treated as such. With thermal imaging and night vision now available on the cheap, even when you can’t see the drone, the drone can see you. Looking at the size and scope of the threat, armed forces, globally, are inducting equipment that can counter drones. There are two main methods to counter the menace: these are hard kill (the drone is physically destroyed using a projectile or lasers), or soft kill (the communication between the drone operator and the drone is jammed, the drone’s ability to use Global Positioning System or GPS can also be hampered by this method).
The conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated the threat of First Person View (FPV) drones to frontline personnel and equipment. Drone have been used to target even individual foxholes. The Indian Army is learning from the two-year-old war. The army has started taking delivery Man Portable Counter Drone System (MPCDS). The advanced and robust set of equipment is completely Made in India. It can detect and defeat drones using the soft kill method up to a distance of 5 kms.
(With inputs from Reuters)
