New Delhi: India’s elite National Security Guard or NSG has been ramped up with the introduction of new weapon systems and state-of-the-art gadgets. Now the NSG is equipped with technologies like semi-automatic sniper rifles or the world’s smallest spy cam.

The world’s smallest spy camera drone called as Black Hornet has a total length of four inches, but size is not an issue when it is lethal. What looks like a toy, proves to be one of the most deadly assets in the NSG’s arsenal. The weapon has the potential to destroy enemy’s assets or the enemy itself within a matter of seconds.

The Black Hornet spy-cam drone is equipped with three hi-tech cameras of its own kind and helps commandos find out danger ahead, says a senior officer of the NSG. The weight of the nano drone is just 16 grams and can have a maximum speed of 22 miles per hour. It also houses an in-built GPS device with autonomous flight functions.

The Black Hornet Nano was designed by Norway’s Prox AS dyanamics as a military micro unmanned aerial vehicle. Before India procuring this weapon, it was already in use by armed forces of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Netherlands.

But the Black Hornet is not the only drone procured by the NSG. On the occasion of 34^th Raising Day celebrations of the elite force, which was formed in 1984, the NSG went on to unveil a Made in India drone called the ‘Kamikaze’.

While being interview, Sudeep Lakhtakia, the director general of the NSG said, “India has lot of talent, which we came across when we were looking for the latest equipment. We decided to go ahead with our home-grown talent.” As safety and secrecy was the prime concern, technocrats and start-up entrepreneurs under the Skill India programme were roped in for the project.

He further said that the National Security Guard has  “introduced weaponised drones as a part of upgradation process.”

Now the main task of the NSG is to keep improving the drone to make it suitable for all kind of terrains, mediums and frontiers. “We plan to have underwater drones too,” he said, hinting at adapting the existing drone for all mediums.

Apart from the drones, the NSG has procured new bullet resistant shields, which is a thin briefcase that can be often seen being carried by ‘black cat commandos’ to protect the prime minister and other VVIPs. What needs to be done is just flick open the case to provide coverage for the person intended to be protected. In short, these shields can be called as umbrellas displayed in the science fiction spy movie ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’.

Now, with the newly equipped gadgets, black cat commandos now work with hands-free ear pieces instead of carrying bulky walkie-talkies. The NSG’s fire power too has been enhanced, by upgrading them with automatic sub-machine guns from Heckler & Koch. These weapons include the MP5 9mm submachine gun, Glock pistol and Glock knives.

The report of ‘black cats’ having been armed with the German PSG1 A1 sniper rifle was also confirmed by a senior official. The rifle carries an enhanced number of total 20 rounds to engage and target for a longer time. It has also got a very long range and has good accuracy. The weight is about 7.2 kg and boasts of a telescopic sight.

The NSG has also been equipped with remote-operated vehicles (ROVs) that can easily carry upto 150 kg of an improvised explosive device (IED) or carry, nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological material.

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