New Delhi, July 23 -- The home ministry has approved the creation of "drone squadrons" for the Border Security Force (BSF) after attacks by Pakistani drone swarms during Operation Sindoor highlighted the need for a robust counter, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday. The modalities for the "drone squadrons" are being prepared but officials said the unmanned aerial vehicles will operate from specific sensitive outposts on the border ranging from Gujarat to Jammu and Kashmir, the same people as above said. An officer cited above, on condition of anonymity, said "select BSF personnel with technology knowhow are already being trained in drone operations, which includes surveillance, repulsing cross border precision and swarm drone attacks, engaging enemy drones, blinding enemy radars and jamming signals, etc." It is expected that two-three personnel specifically trained in drone operations will be deployed in each sensitive border outpost and operations will be controlled through a command centre being created at BSF's Chandigarh battalion. The BSF is examining the kind of drones it would require, including models for surveillance and precision attacks, as well as kamikaze drones, a second officer said. The officer cited above said that senior government officials are already in touch with several countries as well as Indian manufacturers and are examining the options. "The Army has its own drone capabilities which are being enhanced but having proper drone squadrons or having smaller units in each battalion has been discussed for the past 3-4 years. Post Operation Sindoor, this became the top priority and the government has conveyed that there won't be any fund constraints," said a second officer. In response to the Pahalgam attack on April 22, in which 25 tourists and a pony operator were killed, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7. Indian forces bombed nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in pre-dawn strikes --- in which at least 100 terrorists were killed --- and sparked a series of attacks and counter-attacks across the western border, involving fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and fierce artillery and rocket duels. In one such attack on the night of May 9-10, the Indian Air Force struck targets at 13 Pakistani airbases and military installations. After four days of fighting, military hostilities were stopped on May 10 evening as the two nations reached an understanding. During Operation Sindoor, the BSF had neutralised multiple drones using ground-based weapons and destroyed Pakistan Ranger outposts across the border through artillery fire....