KARACHI: Pakistan and Russia have been conducting a joint military exercise that focuses on drone warfare among other things, the Pakistani military said on Friday.

The development comes as militants in Pakistan have started using commercially acquired quadcopter drones to drop bombs on security forces in the country’s northwest, police say, in a potentially dangerous development in the volatile region.

It also follows a four-day conflict between Pakistan and India in May that saw the large-scale use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), fighter jets and artillery, leaving nearly 70 people dead on both sides.

Pakistan and Russia have been conducting the Druzhba-VIII exercise from Sept. 15 till Sept. 27, with senior military officials from Russia in attendance, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media arm.

“The exercise was aimed at refining the drills, procedures and techniques involved in Counter Terrorism operations with focus on drone warfare, fighting in built-up areas and counter improvised explosive devices through joint training, besides harnessing the historic military to military relations among the friendly countries,” the ISPR said in a statement.

Pakistan and Russia, once Cold War rivals, have warmed up to each other in recent years through regular political, business, trade and defense interactions. In March, a Russian navy flotilla arrived in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi to conduct joint exercises with Pakistan Navy.

The latest exercise comes ahead of the Indian military’s plans to test drone and counter drone systems next month in a major exercise to toughen its air defenses, Reuters reported this week, citing a senior officer.

Since the four-day clash, both neighboring countries have ramped up drone development in what analysts describe as a drone arms race. India has also announced plans to build an indigenous air defense system, dubbed ‘Sudarshan Chakra’, by 2035 — an initiative officials have likened to Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’.