# Army raises first Baaz drone battalion in Punjab facing Pakistan 2026-08-22T08:38:36+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Indian Army has raised a specialised drone battalion, named 'Baaz', at Jalandhar in Punjab under 11 Corps for operations along the western front with Pakistan. The unit, the first such battalion in a state facing Pakistan, will operate a mix of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles including the MQ-9B, Heron, Hermes and Ghatak for surveillance, logistics and attack roles. The battalion will act as a centralised hub to standardise training, manage technical data and handle software updates for high-intensity drone warfare. Sources said it will operate platforms sourced from the US, Israel and Indian manufacturers, and will be placed under the Army Aviation Corps, distinct from existing artillery drone batteries and infantry platoons. The initiative reflects lessons from the prolonged standoff with China and the use of UAVs during last year's Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. The Army's drone inventory has grown from a few hundred systems two years ago to more than 50,000 unmanned systems, aligning with the outgoing Army Chief's 'Decade of Transformation' vision. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The deployment of a dedicated drone battalion at Jalandhar places a specialised aerial warfare unit just 30 km from the Pakistan border, significantly cutting response times for surveillance and strike missions. The choice of location under 11 Corps, which oversees the western front, signals that lessons from the 2024 Operation Sindoor have accelerated the integration of unmanned systems into regular combat formations. The battalion's role as a centralised 'brain' for mixed fleets, from Israeli Herons to American MQ-9Bs and Indian-made Ghatak drones, addresses a critical gap: the lack of standardised training and data management across diverse platforms. With the Army's drone fleet jumping from a few hundred to over 50,000 in two years, the next concrete step is the induction schedule for the MQ-9B deal with General Atomics, which will determine how quickly the battalion achieves full operational capability. ## Coverage - newindianexpress.com Straightforward reporting of the army announcement and sourcing, no discernible slant. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: 11 Corps, Baaz drone battalion, General Atomics, Indian Army, Jalandhar Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/army-raises-first-baaz-drone-battalion-in-punjab-facing-pakistan/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/army-raises-first-baaz-drone-battalion-in-punjab-facing-pakistan/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/