According to new guidelines issued by the Home Ministry, the Central Industrial Security Force and National Security Guard can shoot down any Unidentified Flying Objects spotted near Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. The object must be identified as dangerous before being shot down. Earlier, the forces had to inform all concerned agencies and then decide how to bring down the object.
UFO’s is a generic term related mostly to alien’s aircraft; in this case, they refer to any unidentifiable object flying near the airport. These could be drones or balloons.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and National Security Guards (NSG) can shoot down so-called Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) seen near Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, where several such instances have been reported in the past year.
According to senior CISF officers, a March meeting held to review the Delhi airport’s security ended with several changes being made in the rules of engagement with flying objects. The home ministry has been considering a policy allowing CISF and NSG to shoot down such flying objects across the country since last year.
“The review committee comprised officials from the ministry of civil aviation (MOCA), bureau of civil aviation, directorate general of civil aviation, the Delhi Police, CISF, NSG, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) and other agencies concerned. The MOCA had sought suggestions on how to handle UFOs at IGI. In this regard, certain guidelines were made and CISF and NSG were given permission to shoot down UFOs identified as dangerous,” a CIDSF officer said on condition of anonymity.
He said there are certain parameters based on which the agencies will take such action. “The flying object must deemed a threat, carry explosives or harmful items such as chemicals, be near a sensitive area of the airport or engage in any act harmful to human life or machinery. Only in such situations will the UFOs be shot down.”
Until now, CISF and NSG officials had to convey the threat to all agencies concerned, trace the object and then decide on ways to bring it down
This decision is taken after multiple incidents which accounted last year. In which balloon landed on the runway which interrupted the flight schedule.
On Aug 20, 2017
Flight operations were suspended for over half-an-hour at the international airport here on Sunday after a “drone-like object” was spotted in one of the runways. Sources said the “drone-like object” was spotted by an Air Asia pilot about 7.09 pm.
Many flights were diverted as the operations were suspended for about 40 minutes, the sources said. Flight operations resumed at 7.55 pm after clearance from the Delhi Police.