On the night of June 26-27, two explosions rocked the high-security technical sector of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Station Jammu. Low-flying drones are suspected of dropping two improvised explosive devices, according to sources (IED).
This is most likely the country’s first drone attack on a defence base.
According to sources, an IAF patrol squad spotted the ammunition being dropped. The explosions happened in the early hours of Sunday within five minutes. At 1:37 a.m., the first blast took off the roof of a building, while the second hit the ground at 1:42 a.m.
Indian Air Force tweeted: “Two low-intensity explosions were reported early Sunday morning in the technical area of Jammu Air Force Station. One caused minor damage to the roof of a building while the other exploded in an open area. There was no damage to any equipment. The investigation is in progress along with civil agencies.”
According to top military sources, this is being treated as a major incident.
A team from the National Investigation Agency is also at the airport, which is about 16 km from Pakistan’s border. According to ministry officials, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met with Air Force Vice Chief Air Marshal HS Arora, and Air Marshal Vikram Singh would be in Jammu for investigations.
The Jammu airport is located in the Satwari region of the city. The Airport is controlled by the Indian Air Force and also used to operate passenger aircraft.
The event occurred few hours before Defence Minister and Army Chief General MM Naravane arrived in Ladakh for a three-day tour. According to security officials, “IEDs appear to have been dropped using a drone.
This was not on the airport borders, but rather near the helipad.”
According to them, the aircraft parked in the dispersal area could have been the major targets. Drones have been used to drop weapons in the past, but they were not detected by radar. The Team of the NSG and an NIA team are on their way to the Air Force Station to look into the problem.
Few cases of drones to drop weapons across the border by Pakistan have been reported in two years. JK police have found weapons dropped by drones in Akhnoor in September. On June 20, 2020, the Border Security Force (BSF) shot down a suspected spy drone in the Kathua district.
