Turkey-Made Drones Spotted Near Bangladesh Border, Meghalaya Alerts Centre

The Meghalaya government has alerted the Centre over the recent sighting of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) near the border with Bangladesh. This comes after the Turkey-made Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles were spotted near the border.

Prestone Tynsong, Deputy Chief Minister of Meghalaya, has said the Centre and state government are closely monitoring the situation, adding that the Border Security Force and the Indian Air Force have been alerted and New Delhi is keeping a close watch.

"We are keeping the Centre informed on this and they are also taking serious note of this...Centre also must take it up with the government of Bangladesh," Mr Tynsong said.

Meghalaya shares a 443 km border with neighbouring Bangladesh. However, the UAVs were recently spotted close to Sohra and Shella in the East Khasi Hills district, about 200 meters south of the zero line on the international border.

The Indian security agencies, including the Air Force, have intensified surveillance along the India-Bangladesh border.

Bayraktar is a medium altitude long endurance drone, used for conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The drone is also capable of carrying armed attack missions.