A flying object recently seized by detectives from two members of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) is merely a remote controlled flyer, not a high-tech “drone”, say experts.
On December 17, Detective Branch (DB) of police, arrested two members of the militant outfit from the capital’s Jatrabari area. The arrested Islamist militants are Golam Maula Mohan and Tanzil Hossain Babu.
After the arrest, the DB claimed in a briefing that the duo were conducting research on drones capable of conducting attacks on targets.
The detectives also claimed that they recovered a squad chopper, drone and equipment for making remotely-controlled devices from the arrestees.
“The militants were conducting research for six months on how to make drones capable of flying at an altitude of 200 or 300 feet while carrying a payload of 20 to 30 kilogrammes of explosives,” DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said.
“If we call it a simple remote controlled flyer, instead of calling it a “drone” then it would be more appropriate,” Security Analyst Maj Gen (Retd) Md Abdur Rashid told the Dhaka Tribune.
Drones are mini aircraft that have a navigation capacity, can be piloted remotely and are able to hit targets as commanded, he said.
“A drone is basically a high-technology mini aircraft which is used by the military or air force and it would be difficult for militants to build such things,” he said.
He explained saying that a pipe gun and an AK-47 can both kill. But there are differences between pipe guns and AK-47s.
“The ABT militants made a flying device that can be controlled remotely and carry a payload, he said.
“But that doesn’t mean they made a high-tech drone,” he added.
Militants, in a bid to get the attention of the international media or drum up support for local operations from international militant outfits, often adopt different techniques to raise interest, said the security analyst.
The militants hoped to fly to a target and wreak destruction on their target area, he said. For them, this would be considered a success, he said.
We must investigate seriously to determine just what their capabilities are, added the security analyst.
Drones, formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), are essentially flying robots. The aircraft may be remotely controlled or may fly autonomously through software-controlled flight plans in their embedded systems working in conjunction with GPS.
UAVs have most often been associated with the military but they are also used for search and rescue, surveillance, traffic monitoring, weather monitoring and fire fighting, among other things.
Asked about the recent DB raid that yielded a so-called drone weapon, a high official of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) told the Dhaka Tribune that what the detectives recovered is nothing but a toy.
“It is not a drone,” the official said, requesting not to be named. “The capacity to operate drones are only available in certain countries. How would it be possible to operate them in the sub-continent?” he asked.
The RAB official, who was seconded from the army, said investigators need to be more aware of what they are investigating and careful of the message they give to the public.
Asked about latest DB drive, SM Shahjahan, former inspector general of police (IGP), told the Dhaka Tribune that detectives need to launch a better investigation into the militants and emerging weapon technologies.
“The public needs to understand that they too must help inform law enforcement officials about militant activities,” the former IGP added.
