Which of the following statements with regard to drone swarms is/are correct?
- 1.They use Terahertz band of frequency to communicate with the command centre.
- 2.Individual drones in the swarm can communicate with other drones in the swarm.
- 3.GPS Spoofing is a commonly used technique to counter drone swarm attack.
Select the answer using the code given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
A drone swarm is a large group of small unmanned systems that work together on a mission, and GPS spoofing is one of the recognised counter-UAS techniques.
- ✗ 1. UPSC's official key treats this statement as incorrect; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
- ✓ 2. A swarm is a group of drones that act together on one mission (PIB, DARPA). UPSC's official key treats the statement as correct; we could not confirm the rest of the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
- ✓ 3. The NATO Science and Technology Organization lists GPS spoofing, with RF jamming, high-power lasers, EMP and projectile guns, among counter-UAS measures against small UAVs.
Remember · Swarm = many drones acting together on a mission. Counter-drone tools: RF jamming, GPS spoofing, lasers, EMP, projectile guns.
Sources
- NATO Science and Technology Organization: Compact Counter-UAS System for Defeating Small UAV (STO-MP-SET-315) ↗ “Besides RF jammers, GPS Spoofing, HP lasers, EMP and projectile guns, a Counter- unmanned aerial system (cUAS) is a very efficient and effective countermeasure against unauthorized small UAVs.”
- PIB (Ministry of Defence): Indian Army Demonstrates Drone Swarms During Army Day Parade (15 January 2021) ↗ “The Indian Army carried out a live demonstration of Drone Swarming capability using 75 indigenously designed and developed drones which executed an array of Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled simulated offensive missions and close support tasks”
- DARPA (US Department of Defense): OFFSET, OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics ↗ · reference work “using swarms comprising upwards of 250 small unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and/or small unmanned ground systems (UGSs) to accomplish diverse missions in complex urban environments.”
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·