Dimapur, September 2 (MExN): The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Drone Federation of India (DFI) on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the country’s defence against aerial threats, with a focus on developing a Centre of Excellence for drone and counter-drone systems at the CISF’s Recruit Training Centre (RTC) in Behror, Rajasthan.
A press release issued by Sandeep Kumar, Dy Commandant/CASO, CISF Unit ASG Dimapur stated that the agreement, inked at the CISF Headquarters, comes amid the rapid proliferation of drone technology and growing complexity of rogue drone activities, which pose a significant challenge to the security of vital installations across India. The CISF, as the nodal agency for aerial threat response, currently secures over 370 units, including nuclear facilities, space centres, aviation hubs, and oil refineries.
The MoU was signed by Dr CD Naik, DIG (Principal) MPRTC Behror, on behalf of the CISF, and DFI President Smit Shah, in the presence of CISF Director General Praveer Ranjan and other senior officers. Under the partnership, DFI will facilitate collaborations with Indian drone startups and technology firms to support capacity building, applied research, and operational preparedness.
“This MoU is particularly important for CISF as we are working towards developing RTC Behror as a Centre of Excellence in the field of Drones and Counter-Drone Systems,” said Praveer Ranjan, DG, CISF. “I am confident that this partnership will help us take forward the objectives laid down by the Ministry of Home Affairs and develop Behror as a leading Centre of Excellence for drone and counter-drone capabilities in the country.”
The collaboration will focus on four key areas: scaling counter-drone deployments through SOPs and pilot projects; establishing indigenous forensic tools for analysis and post-incident assessment of rogue drone activity; organising red-teaming exercises and joint drills to test response mechanisms; and designing dynamic training modules, hackathons, and challenge programmes for personnel.
Currently, the CISF has integrated drone technology into daily operations, with over 3,000 personnel formally trained in drone and anti-drone protocols, and about 80 units actively using drones for surveillance and threat detection. The force has also developed a dedicated team of domain experts to pioneer drone adoption within its operational framework.
Smit Shah, President of DFI, said, “The Indian drone industry is fully committed to supporting the CISF in safeguarding the nation's critical infrastructure. By testing our startup capabilities in realistic scenarios, developing robust forensic tools, and creating specialised training platforms, we are taking significant strides toward a technologically resilient and 'Aatmanirbhar' security architecture.”
