BSF Develops Drone-Based Tear Gas Launcher for Riot Control

In a recent development, BSF has developed a tear gas shell-dropping drone system which will be very useful to security forces particularly to police as it will help to control protesters and rioters. It was launched by BSF on the 2nd of September, 2022. As per the official statement of a spokesperson of BSF, “Drone tear smoke launcher” can be used for launching these shells from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone and it “will be a potential force multiplier for the security forces working in the law-and-order management domain”.

Before launching, it was tested at the tear smoke unit (TSU) in Tekanpur city of Madhya Pradesh and this was announced at the annual governing body meeting of the special unit held in Delhi under the chairmanship of BSF Director General (DG) Pankaj Kumar Singh.

The TSU was established as BSF its governing body in 1976 and it designs and manufactures anti-riot tear smoke munitions and supplies them to both central and state police forces. The prime function of the BSF is to guard the Indian borders with two neighbouring countries, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but other than this, the force also plays a significant role in providing internal security to the nation.

During the meeting, the BSF DG applauded the TSU for carrying out the production of various non-lethal munitions which are useful to police and security forces and he said in a statement “indigenous production of these items has reduced the country’s dependence on foreign munitions”.

The TSU is known for producing various other defence-related equipment like lachrymatory munitions, flash-bang shells, impact munitions and customised products for special operations, the BSF spokesperson further added.