Operation Sindoor: Critical Insights from India's Defence Experts on Modern Warfare Realities
In a comprehensive analysis drawn from the book Redlines Redrawn: Operation Sindoor and India's New Normal, authored by Major General Bipin Bakshi, Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar, Ambassador Anil Trigunayat, and Brigadier Akhelesh Bhargava, key military and strategic lessons emerge from this significant operation. The experts meticulously dissect the build-up, execution, and far-reaching ramifications, offering a blueprint for India's future defence preparedness in an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape.
Indigenous Defence Systems: A Resounding Success with Room for Acceleration
The foremost learning for the Indian Air Force (IAF) from Operation Sindoor is the exceptional performance of indigenous weapons. The seamless integration of homegrown hi-tech systems into the national defence architecture has been truly praiseworthy. A notable achievement was the effective integration between the Army Air Defence network, Akashteer, and the IAF's Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS).
Newly inducted anti-drone systems of indigenous origin were also successfully integrated, showcasing India's growing technological prowess. However, some legacy systems, such as the Israeli-origin SPYDER and the S-400, operated in standalone mode during the operation. Experts emphasize that these systems are currently in the process of being integrated, and this must be expedited to avoid vulnerabilities.
Air Marshal Anil Chopra, a leading airpower authority, underscores that Operation Sindoor demonstrated the tangible success of India's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative, highlighting the nation's increasing self-reliance in defence. India's indigenous counter-unmanned aerial systems, electronic warfare assets, and multi-layered air defence weapons ensured robust defensive layers from the international boundary deep into the hinterland. These Indian multi-tier defence systems, painstakingly built over the last decade, effectively neutralized Pakistani attacks on critical airfields and logistic installations.
Despite these successes, there is a consensus that much more needs to be accomplished in this domain. The pace of fielding indigenous solutions must increase significantly to maintain a strategic edge.
China-Pakistan Military Collusion: A New Level of Strategic Threat
A critical issue that emerged during the conflict pertains to the unprecedented level of Chinese support to Pakistan. With nearly 80% of Pakistani military hardware originating from China, including aircraft, ships, submarines, tanks, missiles, and drones, the cooperation is deeply entrenched, particularly in the aviation sector.
It is reliably reported that for all newly supplied systems, Chinese technicians and operational teams were present in Pakistan, actively guiding and supporting combat engagements. As Pakistan remains the leading recipient of Chinese armaments, valued at almost $20 billion, China had a vested interest in demonstrating the capabilities of these weapons, leading to a no holds barred approach in their bilateral cooperation.
While intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) cooperation, which provided good battlefield transparency, was anticipated, the reported supply of the non-export version of the PL-15E missile between the Pahalgam attack and 7 May marked a new and alarming level of collusion. This development necessitates that India meticulously study all Chinese weapons and their capabilities, developing robust counter-mechanisms to address this dual threat effectively.
Urgent Defence Modernisation and Spending Imperatives
India's defence modernisation has progressed steadily over the last few decades, albeit at a pace that experts deem insufficient for current threats. The number of fighter squadrons in the IAF has reached an all-time low, a situation that must be rectified to enable effective targeting against collusive threats from Pakistan and China. The defence spending in this volatile geopolitical and neighbourhood environment needs a substantial increase to dominate the escalation ladder in future conflicts.
The protracted Ukraine war has illustrated that uncontrolled escalation can lead to prolonged conflicts, where domestic armament capacity becomes a dominant factor. Therefore, to both stimulate domestic manufacturing capacities and address existing shortfalls, increased defence spending is an absolute necessity. While larger funds have been recently authorised for emergency purchases, a significant backlog persists.
The IAF's fighter fleet strength must be restored to at least the sanctioned 42 squadrons, with priority acquisition of Flight Refuellers and Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft. Additionally, there is a pressing need to improve camouflage and concealment of critical, war-winning assets like the S-400 systems. Technologies to mask such assets already exist within the country and should be inducted expeditiously to retain combat superiority, as existing masking equipment relies on vintage technology and requires urgent upgrading.
Drone Warfare: Evolution and Future Trajectories
Drone warfare has profoundly impacted all recent conflicts, and Operation Sindoor was no exception. Drones were deployed in two primary roles: Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and strike missions. ISR drones were pivotal in providing real-time battlefield awareness, with both India and Pakistan employing these platforms extensively for battlefield mapping, target identification, tracking, and post-strike Battle Damage Assessment (BDA).
High-quality ISR was critical for identifying targets, planning strikes, and conducting assessments, underscoring the need to improve the fusion of airborne ISR (such as Netra AEW&C and Heron TP drones) with space-based assets and human intelligence (HUMINT). Furthermore, ISR assets must be hardened and protected against cyber and electronic warfare disruptions.
Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs, due to their large size and slow speed, remain vulnerable during operations, though they are invaluable in pre-conflict phases until better solutions emerge. India also needs to accelerate production of low-cost strike drones or loitering munitions to enable sustained strike missions on vulnerable targets, maintaining pressure in conflict situations.
Counter-drone operations have become equally critical. During Operation Sindoor, drones were successfully countered through kinetic and non-kinetic means, with the IAF and Army Air Defence downing multiple Pakistani drones before they could engage targets. Consequently, drone defence is now a layered mission requiring integrated kinetic and electronic warfare assets. India must scale and harden its low-level air defence grid to address this evolving threat.
Future developments in drone warfare point towards the use of drones for Electronic Warfare, Manned-Unmanned Teaming, and the application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for drone swarming and interceptors. India must keep abreast of these advancements and develop indigenous solutions to cultivate these capabilities.
Multi-Domain Operations and Technological Self-Reliance
A significant factor in the multi-domain operation was the narrative war that unfolded during the conflict. Pakistan attempted to shape the global narrative through videos, fake strike claims, and international lobbying. This highlights that all future conflicts will be multi-domain, necessitating the use of open-source intelligence and independent verification to control the narrative. Deepening strategic communication planning across the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Defence, and Prime Minister's Office is essential.
Finally, technological self-reliance has transitioned from an aspiration to a strategic imperative. High-tech imported systems are often dependent on spare parts, foreign data links, and political approvals, which can be unreliable during crises. Therefore, fast-track development and integration of indigenous radar, missiles, avionics, and jammers is a pressing need. There is an urgent requirement to incentivize private defence research and development, particularly in drones, AI/ML for targeting, and hypersonic weapons, while achieving supply-chain independence to ensure long-duration conflict readiness.
These insights from Redlines Redrawn collectively underscore that Operation Sindoor has redefined India's security paradigm, emphasizing the critical importance of indigenous innovation, strategic vigilance against collusive threats, and accelerated modernisation to safeguard national interests in an unpredictable world.
