The Indian Army is constructing multi-tier anti-drone screens to protect sensitive buildings in border areas from attacks by drones and unmanned aerial systems, which are witnessing increasing proliferation across the contemporary battle space.A total of 863 drone intrusions along the India-Pakistan border, out of which 854 were in Punjab and Rajasthan, were reported in 2025-26, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). During this period, 237 drones were brought down, which included five carrying war-like stores, 72 with narcotics and 161 drones without any payload.“These activities signify greater attempts by the adversary to employ drones for various nefarious activities like reconnaissance and smuggling of arms, ammunition and narcotics along the International Border, especially in Punjab,” the MoD’s annual report for 2025-26 states.The screens, roughly 37 metres long and 20 metres wide, will have three adequately spaced layers of different types of steel mesh for staged interception, energy dissipation and progressive arrest of incoming aerial objects, according to a request for information issued by the Army on September 25. These defences would initially come up at several locations in the Western Sector.The outer layer would also incorporate camouflage and concealment features to minimise visual and thermal signatures from aerial and ground observation by seamlessly blending exposed structures with the natural terrain and using non-reflective coatings and multi-spectral camouflage paint.“Essentially, these are overhead steel meshes supported by a concrete or metal framework erected over certain high-value structures in forward areas such as command centres or ammunition storage to counter kamikaze drones and other small UAVs,” an officer said.“These would serve as additional protection against swarm drones and complement the existing anti-drone measures like guns, lasers and jammers,” he added.Small, low-flying drones are more difficult to detect and intercept than large UAS.The Army is already using steel meshes and synthetic nets to provide overhead protection to frontline equipment, bunkers and observation posts, artillery guns and vehicles, including tanks. Some of the anti-drone measures for vehicles were also on display during the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi this year.It was at the start of the Russia-Ukraine war that the use of metal meshes to counter drones came into prominence, when advancing Russian tanks were spotted with such measures affixed to them.Drones emerged as a key component of the war, the latest round of which began in February 2022. Three years later, the Indian subcontinent witnessed the extensive use of drones and counter-drones during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, marking a dramatic shift in the conduct of military operations and the growing emphasis on non-contact warfare.The operation witnessed large-scale tri-service deployment of drones and missiles for precision strikes deep inside Pakistan, rather than manpower-intensive formations being massed on the borders and troops firing directly at each other.The Armed Forces also effectively neutralised hundreds of enemy drones and missiles launched across the entire western frontier through an integrated air defence shield.Absorbing a crucial lesson that automated systems and AI-enabled platforms have become key components of warfare, the Armed Forces accelerated the development and induction of indigenous drones and counter-drone measures, and put in place a vast training infrastructure to produce tech-enabled warriors. Private industry is also actively involved in this arena.As many as 30 types of UAS and loitering munitions, covering 80 variants across five categories — surveillance, strike, air defence, special roles and logistics — which can be deployed for different operational situations and terrain conditions, have been identified.Many existing air defence weapons have been modified to detect and destroy small drones as part of the overall air defence network.