Late last week, in the small hours of the morning on Sunday, two unmanned aerial vehicles successfully detonated two improvised explosive devices at an Indian Air Force base in Jammu in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir. No deaths, as of yet, have been reported. But some Indian Air Force personnel were apparently injured as a consequence of these attacks. And not surprisingly, given that the base is a mere handful of miles from the border with Pakistan, most observers believe Islamabad was involved—a suspicion that does seem justified given the recent development of Pakistan’s drone program.
The recent drone attacks were the first of their kind, even though Pakistani surveillance drones have, in the past, hovered around the border and even intruded into Indian-controlled territory in Jammu and Kashmir. The attacks represent both a continuation and a new form of escalation—namely, more direct confrontation rather than through proxies—in a conflict that has spanned decades.
