As NIA arrests foreign nationals who came to train Myanmar militants in drone warfare, read how India’s Kuki insurgents used weaponised drones to bomb Manipur villages in 2024
https://www.opindia.com/2026/03/nia-arr ... s-in-2024/
The drones used by the Kuki insurgents in September 2024 were modified to make them capable of carrying and firing grenades. This was similar to the tactics used by ethnic war groups during the 2021 coup in Myanmar.
The weaponised drone attacks by Kuki militants in 2024
Now, from a plain look at these developments, one might believe that these foreign nationals were aiding insurgent activities in the neighbouring Myanmar and have no connection with India. But before reaching such a conclusion, let’s take a quick recap of the drone bombings that happened in Manipur in September 2024, in the middle of the Kuki-Meitei conflict. On September 1, 2024, the Kuki militant groups used weaponised drones to carry out attacks at Meitei villages.
The incident alarmed the security agencies, as this was the first time that drones were used to drop explosives by domestic terrorist groups. Over 40 explosives were dropped using drones by Kuki militants on Meitei villages like Koutruk and Kadangband in Imphal West. Several civilians were killed and seriously injured in the drone bombings.
The use of weaponised drones to deploy explosives marked a major escalation in the regional ethnic conflict, which had ignited about a year ago, in May 2023. The Manipur Police described the drone bombings amid the ethnic conflict as an “unprecedented” situation. According to the police, the Kuki militants deployed rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and fired them at Meitei villages using high-tech drones. Intelligence also confirmed the use of long-range sniper rifles by Kuki militants in the attack on Koutruk village. The use of advanced weapons such as the RPGs by the Kuki militants particularly alarmed the security agencies, as this was an exceptional occurrence in a local conflict. While dropping explosives using drones requires minor modifications in a drone, launching RPGs would require fully military-grade drones and specialised knowledge, which was not possible at the local level.
Security agencies found a foreign hand in the 2024 Manipur drone bombings
The security agencies signalled the involvement of highly trained professionals with expertise in carrying out explosions through drones in the attacks. The involvement and support of a foreign agency in carrying out the drone bombings was also not ruled out by the agencies. In a statement released after the attacks, the Manipur Police said that the use of drones to deploy explosives had never been witnessed before in the regional ethnic conflict, which has a long history.
“In an unprecedented attack in Koutruk, Imphal West, alleged Kuki militants have deployed numerous RPGs using high-tech drones. While drone bombs have commonly been used in general warfare, this recent deployment of drones to deploy explosives against security forces and civilians marks a significant escalation…,” Manipur Police said in the statement.
