Aiming to detect terrorists who might be hiding in wall cavities or false ceilings, the Indian Army will now use ‘through the wall’ radar imaging during counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir Valley.
According to PTI, a few such radar systems have already been imported by the Army, official sources said, explaining that the technology would help in more precise – and effective — anti-military operations. It would enable forces to get the pinpointed location of terrorists hiding inside homes in congested areas and also avoid civilian casualties.
On more than one occasion, the Army and the Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir Police have had to return without engaging with militants despite specific intelligence inputs. Local informers later conveyed that the terrorists were hiding in a specially created false ceiling or an underground cavity in the same house that had been raided, said a senior official involved in the anti-militancy drive.
The radar is based on short electromagnetic waves generated by the ‘signatures’ of people hidden behind the wall or other concrete barriers.
It is useful for detecting small changes in electromagnetic waves induced by humans; this includes even micro-movements caused by breathing, an official explained.
Though the Army has imported only a few such radars, officials are hopeful that the number would go up once their utility was put to test.
Interestingly, the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), a wing of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has been making attempts to build the radar ingenuously. However, the product has not moved to the trial stage yet.
