Located in close proximity to the international border with Pakistan, Kandla port in Gujarat is setting up an Anti-Drone Surveillance and Neutralisation System that will have the ability to detect enemy drones from a distance and “soft-kill” them.

According to official sources, Kandla port, located in the Gulf of Kutch, will be the first port in the country to have such a system. “Kandla will be the first port to set up an anti-drone system that will have the ability to soft kill or neutralise (enemy) drones,” Sushil Kumar Singh, Chairman of Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) at Kandla told businessline.

The anti-drone systems are slated to be procured just months after “Operation Sindoor “ -- the military action carried out by India against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan in May 2025 -- where the country’s oldest major port was forced to observe black-outs and temporarily cease operations after enemy drones were spotted near it. This system will protect vital port installations, personnel and cargo during high-alerts or conflict scenarios. 

“We have one of the biggest tank farms consisting of 1,200 storage tanks that hold hazardous and toxic chemicals like acids and ammonia, edible oil. Any leakage in these tanks can cause a dangerous situation. Last time drones were spotted in this region and so the plan is to install a system that can detect enemy drones from far and jam its signals thus ensuring a soft kill,” Singh added.

Under this estimated ?58 crore project, four anti-drone surveillance and neutralisation systems will be installed in an area covering 200 acres of the Kandla port and the tank farms. These four stations having stationary radars and other drone detection equipment will also have control rooms from where the operations will be conducted.

The anti-drone system will be able to spot and neutralise enemy drones from a distance of an estimated 15 kilometres. DPA had floated an Expression of Interest (EoI) for procuring these systems and five companies have expressed interest. These companies include some start-ups and companies who had tried out their anti-drone systems during Operation Sindoor. At Adani Group’s Annual General Meeting held on June 24, chairman Gautam Adani had said that during Operation Sindoor, the company’s drones and anti-drone systems protected the Indian skies.

Though the black-outs and temporary disruptions during Operation Sindoor did not impact the bottom lines of the DPA during the first quarter of FY 2026, the situation in May adversely impacted the nearby port in Mundra. businessline reported that the disruptions during Operation Sindoor were among the reasons that saw cargo volumes at Mundra port in Gujarat drop by 6.2 per cent in the first quarter of the current financial year.

Source: The Hindu Business Line 

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