‘Smart fence’ plan back

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
Exactly a month after terrorists launched an attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot, it now turns out that a project to install ‘smart fences’ around air bases in the country has been hampered because of high costs.
‘Smart fences’ of wires strung across poles are used by countries like the US, Israel and France in war zones. These are fitted with sensors, thermal imagers and cameras. Any intrusion sets off an alarm and even indicates the possible intrusion, allowing for retaliation.
Now, the Ministry of Defence has asked the IAF to rework the plan and present it to a committee to review security at all armed forces facilities. The IAF has submitted an audit of all its establishments detailing the shortcomings and needs of the future. A Rs 5,000-crore estimate for ‘smart fences’ at 54 major air bases has been held back since 2011. The operating cost of power supply and manpower is separate. So far, only access at authorised entry gates has been regulated, while chip-embedded smart cards issued to IAF personnel have not been functional everywhere.
A pilot project to try out indigenous technology in a forward air base in Jammu and Kashmir has seen glitches. In total, three air bases in the northern states have such a fence.
 
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