IEDs for Jammu Blast Had a Mix of RDX, Nitrate; One Was Meant to Kill IAF Personnel: Forensic Analysis

Days after two explosive-laden drones struck the high security Indian Air Force station at Jammu airport, forensic experts have said a mixture of RDX and Nitrate was used in the IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices).

Officials part of the investigation told News18 that the first IED which went off at 1:37am had a mixture of 1.5 kg RDX and a nitrate compound while the second IED had more ball bearings. “The first IED it seems was manufactured to cause infrastructural damage while the second one was anti-personnel,” an official said.

According to sources, IEDs are sophisticated and seem to have been manufactured by an ordnance factory. “The plan it seems was that the first IED would damage the helicopters while the second one would maim and kill IAF personnel once they gathered,” an officer said. He added, “This kind of sophistication can’t be the work of a tanzeem like Lashkar or Jaish alone.”

NIA suspects that Pakistani ISI and Rangers could have carried out the blast using Lashkar e Taiba as a front. However, officials acknowledged that so far there is no direct evidence. “The mobile tower and internet data dump is being studied. Leads are expected,” sources said.

Two pre-programmed drones carried two IEDs according to the initial investigation.

Anti Drone System

While investigations are on to locate the Jammu conspirators, the Centre has also given the go ahead to procure the anti-drone technology. Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industry Security Force (CISF) have been tasked with procuring the anti-drone systems for the almost 3,500 km-long International Border and the civilian airports.

“We have identified vital installations and they will be secured first. It is not possible to install the anti-drone system across the 3,500 kilometre border. It is expensive also,” a BSF officer said.

The National Security Guard (NSG) has already deployed its anti-drone guns at Jammu airports. “The NSG team checked the efficacy of its anti-drone systems at Jammu. Drones were flown and were detected. While small drones were detected by the radar at a 3 km distance the medium-sized drones were detected at a 5 km distance,” an official aware of the drill told news18.

Paramilitary forces are focusing on both hard kill and soft kill. Laser guns, net catchers and radio frequency jammers are all being procured, officials said.

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