Operation Sindoor - Post Conflict Analysis

[ritesh]

Only way to debunk porki claims is to enforce no flying zone across their airspace when next time around.

[sanjaykumar]

India was making an omelette, eggs were broken. What did Pakistan achieve?

1971 saw India lose more aircraft than Pakistan. What of it? They were relentless in their attacks on while towards the end Pakistan hadwirthdrawn its aircraft from east Pakistan skies.

How many AEW did Pak take down? How many akash and S-400 batteries?

Why could they Paks shoot down 5 aircraft but permit their bases to be hit at will, including their premier bases?

If the Indian attacks on their nuclear storage sites is true, this is all irrelevant anyway.
And who first put out the boron story. And why?

[ritesh]

I feel that there is something wrong with the mental makeup of our foreign policy establishment.

I think, we can be termed as Sadgun Vikruti...

From Google baba ...
"Sadgun Vikruti" translates to "perversion of virtues" or "abnormal development of good qualities". It's a term coined by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar to criticize what he saw as the negative consequences of excessive focus on "sadhuwad" (goodness, virtue). Savarkar argued that this overemphasis on non-violence, particularly in the context of Mahatma Gandhi's ideology, was detrimental to India.

[Amber G.]

@abcnews on #OperationSindoor after Pakistan sponsored Pahalgam terror attack. Excellent points by the senior Indian diplomat on India’s steps against terror & support from in unequivocally condemning terror.

[RCase]

While our media is referring to Tom Cooper calling out a decisive victory for India, his blogposts below have some very sobering points about our performance too.

https://xxtomcooperxx.substack.com/p/il ... s-of-cross
https://xxtomcooperxx.substack.com/p/il ... -cross-b6c

What a load of bullshit! I am not sure who this Tom Cooper guy is and what is his expertise. Seems he took the DGISPR hand out and passed it off as his blogpost.

Anyone with half a brain (except the inbred Paki brain) will dismiss the 5 aircraft hits within the first few moments. Even if were IAF to have made such outlandish claims, I would have dismissed that. The entire operation was done in 25 min. Majority of the targets were within a few miles ( <15 )of the LOC/ border.

[bala]

Two things Pak land Generals have used - terror and the nuclear bluff. Both of these were addressed in Operation Sindoor which is still ongoing according to PM Modi. The nuclear bluff has not worked previously. Now there is convincing evidence that whatever places Pak land has deemed as strategic for the their nuclear weapons program, most of them were bombed by India in Operation Sindoor. The PM mentioned that the Pak land nuclear umbrella is out! The terror camp is also also hit in a major way and the number who died is under reported by Pak land. One thing is clear for the world - terror is state sponsored by Pak land considering the number of fauji at funeral of terrorists.

One of the side effect of Operation Sindoor is that India has exposed the shoddy China maal for the entire world to witness. The Chinese HQ-9 is their attempt at reverse engineering Russian S-300 which never really worked.

[Aditya_V]

@manish singh

While our media is referring to Tom Cooper calling out a decisive victory for India, his blogposts below have some very sobering points about our performance too.

I mean that the evidence of Operation Sindoor, especially if India started off with a loss of four or five planes and the accompanying armaments, shows that the Indians operated a very fast and effective Observe-Orient-Decide-Act cycle - an exceptional agility -- and yet the claim is that their initial set-backs were because of their stuck-in-the-mud stodginess. Really? It is simply not credible.

This is Highly Unlikely,

1) Planes Crashing with Armaments would have caused such loud Bangs and given they way Photos and videos are available in India - it be would be in public domain with local claiming helping Pilots, IAF also stated the Pilots are home- MKI all are 2 seaters so 5 fighters would mean 5-8 ejections, some would definitely be in Hospital.

2) If Aircraft fell when they were coming in with Armaments there would have been misses on Targets on 7 May 25, and Pakis would have gone to Town with it our misses.

3) Both Air forces state they within their Borders, then distance between fighters should have been 40-50 Km, PAF claims it fired at retreating IAF aircraft, in a Tail Chase engagement Launching Aircraft to Target Aircraft comes down 4-5 times of a Head on engagement distance , So PL15E Launching aircraft should have been something like 25 KM from Fast twin engine jets like SU30MKI and Rafale, I don't these fighters were closer than that to the Border, explains why we have soo many PL 15 E debris with the missiles intact in the Rajastan sector.

This could also mean the PL15E launching aircraft would have to come in fast towards the Border making it vulnerable to IAF Aircraft who have been cover to the strike aircraft, so if any aircraft went down tat day in Rajastan sector across the it was possibly 1 or 2 J-10CE, could explain panic propaganda from the Chinese

4) Only exception could be Jaguar aircraft which are slower and so launching aircraft could have succumbed.

5) From 27 Feb 19- we know PAF states IAF losses as IAF+PAF losses - DSIPR that day also claim 2 Aircraft. So probably 5 PAF +IAF losses went down on 7 May 25,

6) Video evidence,

1- There is a video from Sialkot sector near Aknoor of an aircraft going down - some online videos from Jammu showing an aircraft going and wreak age from PAF side looking JF-17 Intake .
2- Video evidence in POK with wreak age of a Mirage 3/5 aircraft plus just across the LOC a single drop Tank with French Markings recovered by us and put in a Box Marked PAF material
3- Some grainy videos plus Media reports of an unidentified aircraft near Bathinda.



From public ally available information the For 7 Feb 25 , 1 Mirage 3 , 1 JF-17 , 2 J10CE and 1 Jaguar. Post that losses on PAF side probably night of 8-9 Feb 25 , 1 F16, 2 JF 17, Night of 9 Feb 25-10 Feb 25 morning 2 unidentified PAF aircraft.

I think totally PAF lost 9 Fighters to IAF 1 in all engagements in the Air , plus critical LY80 radars TPY-77, H-9, H-16 and numerous aircrafts on IAF hits on 11 airbases. No wonder there is no before after satellite images from them. Not to forget the huge number of Turkish drone losses. FPV can cover only a few KM from the Border- Songer, Byrakter etc are from 15K to 2-3 Millon USD, so losing about 800-900 of these is huge.

Also I don't think Pakis have access to real time satellite intelligence unlike us, so they are relying on Songar drones with cameras for targets on our side.

They may try something due to loss of H and D but it has been a massive face loss for them and many Europeans Chinese are clearly seeing our capability and putting crap propaganda videos.

[VikramS]

Old Timer checkin on BR jingos.

...
If true, this shows the frightening dominance established by our forces in such a short time of operations that pushed TSP to a nuclear response. At the same time, is the NCA of Pakistan re-drawing newer and even lower redlines than what were existing before and even more recklessly behaving?

Oh Yes. Shakina max. Fizzle-Ya did not know what hit them.

Even in their worst nightmare they could not have imagined that Sargodha, the forbidden city, could have both its runways cratered and inoperable, with almost the entire fleet on the ground.

Or that their Command Center at Chakla (NurKhan) would take a direct hit with an explosion which shook things up as if MOAB had landed there.

Or that each & every air-base had a high-value target taken down.

If this was a war, the entire PAF could have been taken down in a few hours; very similar to how the Israeli's destroyed Arab Air Forces on the ground.

Old Timer checkin on BR jingos.

1. The beating which PAF got in 90 minutes was beyond my wildest imagination.

Indians are now inspired by IPL T20 and are used to quick scoring.

From a Test Match (with a rest day) to T20!

That's pretty much what Bharat Karnad is saying. Although the man seems to have a strange grudge against Rafale and MoD. Points #3 and #4 is important and in future we must force them to ground civilian airliners else they are fair game.

I hope that Armed Forces planners become less conservative (as Tom Cooper puts it).

[rajpa]

Not an aircraft geek but what i understand from this blog, some of the CLAWS folks descriptions, some a/c youtube videos and orangsheep's presentation is that they managed to do something strategic for a short period of time because of our initial and unfamiliar exposure to the PL-15s and managed to surprise our operators before big papa pulled up and smacked the air defences out, leaving their entire airfleet naked and unable to operate.

for tsp to do something truly strategic, they would have to have the scale of the Cheenis to manage their entire airforce and even then, they will (by themselves) most likely not have the MIC to match us, not to mention the other brain related matters, lest I am accused to being racist to the TSP.

so tacktickle brilliance is the best they can do and that will never be enough. If only they had some shame....

[Cyrano]

Could we have achieved the results of May 7th without using our AF but just using missiles like brahmos?

[tandav]

I will wait for official acknowledgement of IAF performance... however in International Media the Pakistani Narrative which is essentially equivalent to IAF narrative post Pulwama on the F16 shootdown based on Indian AWACs signature did not get traction... however here the PAF narrative with similar electronic signatures seems to have gone viral. Mostly the evidence given is the M88 engine (Rafale) and BS001 Tail fin and a MIG29 ejection seat pics online.

Did India deploy refuellers and AWACs ? Some French Analysts said that IAF does not have IFR capability or did not demonstrate it on 7th May 2025. Is it possible that BVR PL15s launched by PAF J10s /JF17s was not picked up on our AWACS to adequately warn our fighter packages.

The debrief from IAF only mentions that all Pilots have returned but did not rule out IAF losing Fighters infact tacitly acknowledging some losses stating that in conflict losses are inevitable.

Video in link is definitely an M88 engine and the image above it showcases some other crash.
https://defencesecurityasia.com/en/indi ... -scrutiny/

[chetak]

VI@WA

Looks like all parties achieved their KRA - Pakistan got loan, China tested their missile system, Turkey tested their drones, India and Russia tested S400 and Brahmos, France tested Rafale, some terrorists got their 72 hure, and, Trump got his credit.

[chetak]

VI@WA

Had they said, tell Yogi, it wouldn't have been "Operation Sindoor".

Instead it would have been "Operation Tandoor"

[Ashokk]

https://x.com/ShivAroor/status/1922191459303772406 --->

Claimed they hit Adampur runway
Claimed they hit Adampur S-400
Claimed drones hit Adampur radar
Claimed missiles destroyed aircraft
Claimed 60 killed at Adampur
Used morphed of Adampur
Said Adampur out of action for years

PM Modi visits Adampur Air Base, interacts with air warriors

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Adampur Air Base, interacts with air warriors.

[tandav]

The standoff air strikes by IAF (loitering munitions, drones) and AD grid (Akash Teer, L70, S400) of IA performed well. More Indigenous systems like Brahmos seems to have done their job in A2G and G2G roles. But IAF in A2A role against PAF seems to objectively underperformed. I am not very clear why IAF was unable to shoot down any major platforms from the sky in these engagements. The lack of AWACS and IFR platforms seems to have played a critical role in this non performance. IAF is the most import pasand wing of the IA and has not been able to establish the level of dominance that Indian public expects from them. PAF has quite a lot of experience with Qatari Rafales / Chinese Su 30s/27s DACT played a role their tactics.

Apparently J10C vs Eurofighter in a BVR exercise resulted J10C winning comprehensively in Jan 2024.

https://www.eurasiantimes.com/chinese-j ... phoon-9-0/

[williams]

I will wait for official acknowledgement of IAF performance... however in International Media the Pakistani Narrative which is essentially equivalent to IAF narrative post Pulwama on the F16 shootdown based on Indian AWACs signature did not get traction... however here the PAF narrative with similar electronic signatures seems to have gone viral. Mostly the evidence given is the M88 engine (Rafale) and BS001 Tail fin and a MIG29 ejection seat pics online.

Did India deploy refuellers and AWACs ? Some French Analysts said that IAF does not have IFR capability or did not demonstrate it on 7th May 2025. Is it possible that BVR PL15s launched by PAF J10s /JF17s was not picked up on our AWACS to adequately warn our fighter packages.

The debrief from IAF only mentions that all Pilots have returned but did not rule out IAF losing Fighters infact tacitly acknowledging some losses stating that in conflict losses are inevitable.

Video in link is definitely an M88 engine and the image above it showcases some other crash.
https://defencesecurityasia.com/en/indi ... -scrutiny/

Which international media are you looking at? The link you are providing here is part of deaf and dumb forum. PAF lost 11 airbases and > 20% of their inventory (some estimate goes as big as 53.44% losses) that info is flooding the social media as we speak. There is also pictures of dozens of dud PL 15s fallen all around that is flooding the Chinese social media. While PAF pilots risked their lives and literally flew blind, since their cheap SAAB AEWC were jammed by Indian EWS. Poor Paki pilots fired their cheap Chinese PL15s that did not even explode, resulting in IAF planes happily firing their A2G weapons and coming back home. PAF lost so many good senior pilots due to bad Chinese equipment and there are reports that some even refused to go on air after May 7th. Compared to that few experimental drone losses of IAF is small fry. PAF pilots have wowed to never buy Chinese equipment in the future and are now looking at bettering their relationship with the US.

[Dilbu]

Even if TSPA may lie low for a while, it is hard to imagine LeT and the rest of the pigs doing the same. Also TSP would want to prevent India hitting them at will and going back to normal life and economic growth. If they are suffering they will want India also to suffer. So drone attacks and terrorist attacks are definitely going to come. They will do something to test Modi’s threat of treating their actions as act of war. They have nothing to lose. Even nuclear emergency is a begging opportunity for them. India cannot afford to relax. IPL, if it continues, will be targeted.

[williams]

The standoff air strikes by IAF (loitering munitions, drones) and AD grid (Akash Teer, L70, S400) of IA performed well. More Indigenous systems like Brahmos seems to have done their job in A2G and G2G roles. But IAF in A2A role against PAF seems to objectively underperformed. I am not very clear why IAF was unable to shoot down any major platforms from the sky in these engagements. The lack of AWACS and IFR platforms seems to have played a critical role in this non performance. IAF is the most import pasand wing of the IA and has not been able to establish the level of dominance that Indian public expects from them. PAF has quite a lot of experience with Qatari Rafales / Chinese Su 30s/27s DACT played a role their tactics.

Apparently J10C vs Eurofighter in a BVR exercise resulted J10C winning comprehensively in Jan 2024.

https://www.eurasiantimes.com/chinese-j ... phoon-9-0/

Yes PAF pilots are well trained in tactics and J10C performed so well. Also J10Cs operational availability is near 90% with ws-20. Unfortunately PAF lost so much of their aircrafts due to massive ground attack by IAF. So many PAF pilots lost their lives due to poor RADAR coverage and Indian S400. PAF pilots are now dominating the heavens while IAF pilots are fattening themselves with home made butter chicken.

[williams]

Even if TSPA may lie low for a while, it is hard to imagine LeT and the rest of the pigs doing the same. Also TSP would want to prevent India hitting them at will and going back to normal life and economic growth. If they are suffering they will want India also to suffer. So drone attacks and terrorist attacks are definitely going to come. They will do something to test Modi’s threat of treating their actions as act of war. They have nothing to lose. Even nuclear emergency is a begging opportunity for them. India cannot afford to relax. IPL, if it continues, will be targeted.

Yea that is for sure. The one thing that surprised me this time is the amount of quality intelligence India had on these terrorist orgs. Hopefully that might give us the advantage in the future.

[srai]

While our media is referring to Tom Cooper calling out a decisive victory for India, his blogposts below have some very sobering points about our performance too.

https://xxtomcooperxx.substack.com/p/il ... s-of-cross
https://xxtomcooperxx.substack.com/p/il ... -cross-b6c
…

Corroborating the above selection…

Referring to ATE CHUET video with the press briefing by the PAF marshal
viewtopic.php?p=2648327#p2648327

It took IAF 20 minutes to get 60 aircraft (including 14 Rafales) into 8 groups assigned to 4 sectors. Eventually IAF had 72 aircraft in air.

It took PAF around 2 minutes to make the call on this being the “big” one. They got 42 jets airborne in around 20 minutes.

Then the big aerial battle ensued all at BVR ranges. PAF expended a lot of its BVR missiles. It will cost them some fortune to replenish those “excessive” wastages.

All claims at this point are based on electronic data, but nothing proven yet.

The main lesson is to not handicap oneself in warfare. First strike (and ongoing strikes) should have focused on damaging airbase runways (at the minimum) to retain numerical superiority for the following main strike operation on terrorist targets. This would have prevented mass air battle at stand-off ranges where anything would be possible.

[tandav]

No one denies that IA has dominance due to its A2G and G2G standoff weapons and AD grid that prevents opposing standoff weapons from being effective.

However on the specific issue of A2A battle the PAF's J10/JF17 + PL15 Combo seems to be an overmatch for IAF. I am unhappy that we were not better prepared and lost some capital assets. I am even more unhappy as I see very little tangible evidence of PAF planes burning on the tarmac, hangars or crash debris of them getting shot out of the sky. Where is our BDA ? every loss in IAF must see a tris - proportionate loss of PAF in the same domain. 1 Rafale Lost == 3 J10 destroyed.

The PL15 used by PAF could be a non export special version. Weight wise PL15 is 230Kg but range is 200km and can be guided by AWEAC mid course guidance and final terminal active homing. Meteor is only 190Kg and range is 145Km

[gakakkad]

Good they have used civilian airlines as a shield to prevent India from using bvr missiles ? Is IAF actually so dharmic that they wont fire aam across the border to not harm a civilian plane ?

[tandav]

Was IAF underestimating the PAF and Chinese weapons especially the BVR capabilities of J10 and JF17 + PL15 combo. Even if the PAF Fighter platform is worse than our platforms the longer BVR stick of PL15 (200KM) was more effective than the shorter range Meteor (140KM), MICA(80KM), Python combo on 7th May 2025.

[gakakkad]

Tandav, the article you provided is from Eurasian Times. It's a bonafide fake news service.

[rkhanna]

The standoff air strikes by IAF (loitering munitions, drones) and AD grid (Akash Teer, L70, S400) of IA performed well. More Indigenous systems like Brahmos seems to have done their job in A2G and G2G roles. But IAF in A2A role against PAF seems to objectively underperformed.

Apparently J10C vs Eurofighter in a BVR exercise resulted J10C winning comprehensively in Jan 2024
https://www.eurasiantimes.com/chinese-j ... phoon-9-0/

AFAIK - the IAF did not plan to engage in A-A Combat- the IAF ran 1) strike missions and 2) then played defense to whatever got through our AD net.

for 1) - we were bound to take fire from their Screen - we dont know how many planes we lost and how? - AA / AG ?
- All the rumoured losses seem to be from the first day - Strike Packages tend to take hits no? like our losses in '65

for 2) hardly anything got through - most of PAF losses i have heard of came during the subsequent days (?)


Not sure how you draw the conclusion of "underperformed" the A-A battle. IMO we never intended to get into a AA battle (something we learnt from Balakot I assume - in a dog fight everyone dies at the same rate).

Seems like ee were playing checkers the pakis were playing Chess.

Happy to stand corrected

Was IAF underestimating the PAF and Chinese weapons especially the BVR capabilities of J10 and JF17 + PL15 combo. Even if the PAF Fighter platform is worse than our platforms the longer BVR stick of PL15 (200KM) was more effective than the shorter range Meteor (140KM), MICA(80KM), Python combo on 7th May 2025.

IMO the IAF (pleasant suprise) did not underestimate anything - They played to their own strenghts though rather than get into a "Fair Fight"

the IAF has a very healthy respect for the PAF (jingoism of the mango man aside)

[tandav]

Pakistan is all about optics... every skirmish they seem to have a facesaving event that keeps their Echandee intact. Its important that no such facesavers are allowed and overall broad spectrum dominance be unambigously displayed and hammered in time after time. The Ceasefire was badly timed... it could have been deferred by 24 hours and after destroying 20-30 J10/JF17 on the tarmac or in the air and post unambiguous satellite BDA evidence presented to International fora. Where did the PAF disappear after 7th May when IA took out their runways

[Deans]

So each time an IAF plane takes off Paki Eyiree Awacs detects, but after years of planning and days of preparation after the govt has given a free hand, our mission planners did not think of having our own Awacs in the air to support our planes? What kind of pig manure is this?!

It is pig manure, because a basic principle of radar it that you can detect the emissions at double the distance that the radar can detect you.
Sort of like a man with a torch trying to find you in the dark. So before an aircraft takes off, the position of the AWACS trying to track it, is known.

[Deans]

So first 1.4 billion people need to believe in themselves and in their country. When they believe what they believe chota mota CNN, Reuters etc will loose their market share and eventually disappear. One visit by the PM all propaganda machines are shattered now.

This cannot be emphasised enough. On other social media, Indians are more obsessed with what Pakistan and the foreign media are saying, than our own briefings. BRF is the only voice of sanity !

[Bharadwaj]

https://x.com/VishnuNDTV/status/1922154069512073380

Vishnu Som has got the images from Maxar. This is at Bholari. You can clearly see the radome outline and canopy along with the rest of the burnt Solahh inside the hangar. I suspect there are more inside.

[Luxtor]

^^^
Let's see if uncle acknowledges the loss of F-16 fighting chickens of the PAF this time. They always cover up losses of their weapons in pukiland or anywhere else in the world if they can help it. You pretty much have to be in possession of the wreckage to show to the world that an American weapon has been defeated. Too much sales money and pride is at stake for them.

[Rakesh]

While our media is referring to Tom Cooper calling out a decisive victory for India, his blogposts below have some very sobering points about our performance too.

https://xxtomcooperxx.substack.com/p/il ... s-of-cross
https://xxtomcooperxx.substack.com/p/il ... -cross-b6c

Rest assured, we at BRF will dissect every claim that the Paks have made. But since this is still an on-going operation, will wait for our Armed Forces' BDA (Battle Damage Assessment) briefing to list the losses - if any - we have had. Till then, read this from Tom Cooper (which summarizes his blog above).

'Clear-cut victory': Military historian says West misread the conflict, says India decimated Pakistani bases
https://www.businesstoday.in/india/stor ... 2025-05-12
12 May 2025

In a detailed blog post analyzing the recent India-Pakistan conflict, Austrian military historian Tom Cooper criticized Western media for what he called “PR efforts” that distorted the military reality on the ground.

When India launched a series of precise missile strikes deep into Pakistani territory last week, the world took notice. Among the most striking endorsements came from Austrian military historian Tom Cooper, who labeled the operation a “clear-cut victory” for India — pointing not just to the scale of destruction inflicted, but to the strategic targeting of Pakistani air bases and nuclear weapons storage sites, with no credible Pakistani response in sight. In a detailed blog post analyzing the recent India-Pakistan conflict, Cooper criticized Western media for what he called “PR efforts” that distorted the military reality on the ground. “When one side is bombing nuclear weapons storage facilities of the other, and the other has no ability to retaliate left, then that’s a clear-cut victory in my books,” he wrote. Cooper noted that Pakistan lacked long-range missiles capable of countering India's firepower, singling out India’s BrahMos and SCALP-EG missiles as unmatched in Pakistan's arsenal. He said Pakistan’s celebrated missile capabilities had not translated into operational deterrence. According to Cooper, India’s strikes had severely damaged critical Pakistani air bases, including Nur Khan and Sargodha. He added that Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) contacted his Indian counterpart to initiate a ceasefire — a move that, he implied, underscored the imbalance in combat effectiveness.

Cooper, a prolific author on aerial warfare in conflict zones such as the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, remains an influential voice among military analysts and policymakers. His comments came just two days after India and Pakistan agreed to halt military operations, following a call from Pakistan's DGMO to his Indian counterpart amid escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. The Indian Armed Forces had earlier released visual evidence of the airstrikes, showcasing extensive damage inflicted on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as well as Pakistani military infrastructure. India also targeted a surface-to-air missile site at Karachi’s Malir Cantonment, according to Air Marshal AK Bharti, Director General of Air Operations, in a press briefing on Sunday. Reinforcing India’s military message, John Spencer, a retired U.S. Army officer and Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute, said on Monday that India’s homegrown defence systems had proven their mettle. “India's domestically produced weapons worked, China's did not,” Spencer said, underlining the broader implications of the conflict for regional and global military watchers.

[Rakesh]

'India's weapons worked, China's didn't': Top US expert praises Make-in-India, says it's a model of military readiness
https://www.businesstoday.in/india/stor ... 2025-05-12
12 May 2025

Spencer said that India's growing defense self-reliance, driven by the 'Make in India' initiative, has led to a major leap in indigenous production

India's domestic defence systems have delivered a decisive message — not just to its adversaries, but to the world watching closely, John Spencer, retired United States Army officer, said on Monday. Spencer, who is also the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute, said that India's domestically produced weapons worked, China's did not. After the terror attack in Pahalgam, the Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor, striking nine terror infrastructure sites across Pakistan. Pakistan attempted retaliation by sending hundreds of drones and missiles to target civilian and as well as key defence installations in areas like Jammu, Pathankot, and Jaisalmer. Not a single missile hit its mark. India's air defence system neutralised them all, thwarting attempted incursions by Pakistan.

Spencer said that India's growing defense self-reliance, driven by the 'Make in India' initiative, has led to a major leap in indigenous production — from 32% of the Army's ammunition needs met domestically in 2014 to 88% in 2024. "From missiles like BrahMos and Pinaka to radars and artillery systems, Indian-made equipment proved itself in live combat. That’s not just a national achievement—it’s a model of military readiness for any nation facing modern threats," he wrote on X. Pakistan, meanwhile, continues to rely heavily on Chinese-made systems like the HQ-9/P, LY-80, and FM-90 — systems that repeatedly fail to stop or detect precision strikes, the UA veteran said. "In a real fight, performance matters more than procurement deals." After Pakistan's failed attempt, India's air defence ecosystem responded swiftly and destroyed the Pakistan Army's Chinese-built air defence system in Lahore and Chakrala. A coordinated network comprising the Akash SAMs, DRDO's anti-drone systems, and the Integrated Counter-UAS Grid intercepted every incoming threat.

According to officials, “Every single one of those missiles was intercepted or neutralised. None reached its intended target.” India also retaliated. The Indian Air Force hit strategic enemy positions, including a Chinese-supplied HQ-9 air defence unit in Lahore and critical radar sites. These strikes were backed by Israeli-origin Harop drones (now made in India), loitering munitions acquired in 2021, and Rafale jets equipped with SCALP and HAMMER missiles. The performance of Pakistan’s Chinese-made systems—HQ-9/P, LY-80, and FM-90—proved ineffective in comparison. The combat debut of India-made loitering munitions and integration of multiple tech platforms underscore a maturing defence strategy. "The Modi government’s approach to defence has not been about flashy one-offs — it has been about building a resilient, multi-layered ecosystem," an official said. India now operates a tech-driven airspace defence grid capable of detecting, jamming, and eliminating threats with precision — an achievement Spencer calls "a model of military readiness for any nation facing modern threats."

[A_Gupta]

Nice articles from Cooper and Spencer.
Of course, tomorrow they can say something else.

[Rakesh]

'Destroy the enemy in the sky': India confirms Pakistani Mirage shot down in Op Sindoor; see wreckage
https://www.businesstoday.in/india/stor ... 2025-05-12
12 May 2025

The Indian Army also displayed debris of Turkish-origin YIHA and Songar drones and fragments of a PL-15 air-to-air missile of Chinese origin, all recovered after Pakistan's failed attacks.

India on Monday confirmed that a Pakistani Mirage fighter jet was brought down during Operation Sindoor. The Indian Army released footage showing wreckage of the jet, while top defence officials briefed the media on Pakistan's failed aerial offensive and India's successful retaliatory strikes. Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, Director General Air Operations Air Marshal AK Bharti, and Director General of Naval Operations Vice Admiral AN Pramod addressed a joint press conference, outlining the sequence of events under Operation Sindoor. They also displayed debris of Turkish-origin YIHA and Songar drones and fragments of a PL-15 air-to-air missile of Chinese origin, all recovered after Pakistan's failed attacks.

Air Marshal Bharti highlighted the robustness of India’s indigenous systems, particularly the Akash surface-to-air missile platform. “Our battle-proven systems stood the test of time. The Akash system performed remarkably,” he said. He credited the government's sustained policy and budgetary support over the past decade for enabling India’s integrated air defence preparedness. The IAF not only neutralised incoming Pakistani missiles across Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat — but struck back with precision, destroying nine terror camps and key military infrastructure in Pakistan. A Chinese-supplied HQ-9 air defence unit in Lahore was among the targets hit. Not a single Pakistani missile or drones reached its intended target.

According to John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute, "India's domestically produced weapons worked. China’s did not.” He described the operation as a clear example of modern military effectiveness, noting that India’s shift toward self-reliance had turned its defence doctrine into a model for other nations. Since 2014, India has significantly upgraded its defence systems under the “Make in India” push—from meeting just 32% of the Army’s ammunition needs domestically to 88% in 2024. Indian-made platforms such as BrahMos, Pinaka, Akash, and DRDO’s drone-countermeasures are now combat-tested. The operation also marked the first battlefield use of loitering munitions—suicidal drones made in India and ordered in 2021—alongside Israeli-origin Harop drones and Rafale jets equipped with SCALP and HAMMER missiles.

"This was a different kind of warfare,” said Air Marshal Bharti. “If we fight another war, that would be completely different. It is a cat-and-mouse game—we need to stay ahead of the curve.” India's current air defence grid integrates the S-400 Triumf, Barak-8 MR-SAMs, Akash systems, and DRDO-built counter-drone technologies into a seamless shield.

[SBajwa]

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1922184749277208713 ---> Earlier this morning, I went to AFS Adampur and met our brave air warriors and soldiers. It was a very special experience to be with those who epitomise courage, determination and fearlessness. India is eternally grateful to our armed forces for everything they do for our nation.









https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1922198995289468930 ---> Sharing some more glimpses from my visit to AFS Adampur.









https://x.com/ShivAroor/status/1922179535656640750 ---> BREAKING: PM visits Adampur Air Base. He was briefed by Air Force personnel and he also interacted with air warriors there.

https://x.com/ShivAroor/status/1922185798855590310 ---> Life-size fact check by PM Modi of Pak’s suggestion that Adampur air base had been hit. They even got doctored Chinese images to ‘prove’ it. And here’s the PM at the Adampur air base today.

[manish singh]

While our media is referring to Tom Cooper calling out a decisive victory for India, his blogposts below have some very sobering points about our performance too.

https://xxtomcooperxx.substack.com/p/il ... s-of-cross
https://xxtomcooperxx.substack.com/p/il ... -cross-b6c

Rest assured, we at BRF will dissect every claim that the Paks have made. But since this is still an on-going operation, will wait for our Armed Forces' BDA (Battle Damage Assessment) briefing to list the losses - if any - we have had. Till then, read this from Tom Cooper (which summarizes his blog above).

Thank you Rakesh. That was my intention in sharing the blogposts. I am no military expert and hadn't heard of Tom Cooper before, but for some reason both Indian as well as international media seem to be referring to his blogposts a lot. I am sure that BRF will dissect his claims threadbare even if some of them prove to be true and bring out deficiencies on our side. Nothing to be ashamed of if we had made some mistakes as long as these are acknowledged and lessons learned are used to keep improving our future operations.

Some other points from the blogposts:

- During the evening of 7 May, the Pakistani Armed Forces thus began launching dozens, then hundreds of attack UAVs into India. By the time, at least the India’s integrated air defence system was up and on alert. Undergoing constant development and upgrades already since the 1990s, this is one of most sophisticated such systems, world-wide. Correspondingly, this attack received a ‘very hot welcome’.

- It was funny to watch ‘half of India’ celebrating S-400s, where, actually, the mass of kills was scored by Akashs’, Spyders, and the good old Bofors L70 (nowadays available in form of BEL-upgraded L70s). The latter are not only famously reliable, but have a handsome engagement range. Above all – and that’s important for wars of this scope: they are far cheaper to operate than any kind of SAMs. De-facto ‘ideal’ for point defence from modern-day attack UAVs.

- It appears that a better part of the Indian public [mis]understood the Harop-attack on the HQ-9 SAM-site in Karachi as ‘attack & destruction of Karachi’.

- 8 May 2025, Evening: This was the first period showing signs of ‘trouble in Islamabad’. Pakistan’s attack UAVs and Fateh-1 MLRS’ have proven ‘not enough’: the Indian IADS demonstratively shot down the mass of incoming rockets and UAVs, and Pakistan had only enough on stock for, perhaps, 2-3 days of additional strikes of that kind and scope.

- The question was only: with what to act and how? That’s where the decision fell to send the PAF into attack. In combination with additional Fateh-1 strikes and attack UAVs, the air force deployed ‘even’ its ‘holy’ F-16s, not to talk about JF-17s.

- Pakistani generals have their own traditions and procedures. One of these is that of ‘maintaining the PAF as a force in being’ – no matter what’s going on. We’ve seen that already back in 1971, when they, de-facto, grounded the PAF, to avoid losses in the face of obvious Indian supremacy, and ‘as reserve, should things really get very, very bad’. Wouldn’t be surprised if they did the same now, too – at least with units operating J-10s, Mirages etc.

- And so… the F-16s and JF-17s went in: some of the latter armed with (Chinese-made) CM-400AKG air-launched, ballistic anti-radar missiles. Islamabad promptly claimed ‘destruction’ of an Indian S-400 (while India claimed it intercepted both of incoming CM-400s). How do they think they’ve destroyed an entire battalion of S-400s with anti-radar missiles, though: is beyond my comprehension. But hey: the claim sounds so cool, so why not…?

- In turn, the Indians claimed – as far as I can assess – the downing of one F-16 and two JF-17s. A few unofficial Indian social media presences claimed the capture of one of PAF pilots. Of course, this was promptly denied by official Islamabad.

- A still from a video of wreckage inspected by a group of Indian Army troops in rugged, forest-covered terrain - showing pieces of an Atar 9 engine. Although the troops on the video in question are talking about' ‘Indian Su-30’, this engine is making the jet in question a PAF Mirage.

- 10 May 2025, Morning: During the night the IAF re-appeared on the scene to launch a number of Brahmos and SCALP-EG missiles against selected bases of the Pakistan Air Force. With at least two of PAF’s HQ-9s knocked out two days earlier, and the PAF suppressed enough to stop shooting PL-15s into the Indian airspace, in a matter of three hours the IAF Su-30MKI-, Mirage 2000- and Rafale-crews found enough opportunities to deliver a few really heavy blows.

- A silhouette of a PAF C-130 set afire at the Nur Khan AB is clearly visible on this still from a video.

- How many PAF aircraft were destroyed in these strikes remains unknown: don’t worry, the Pakistanis are not going to brag about that number (until today, even official PAF historians simply prefer to ignore all of PAF losses in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War). Fact is, after this series of blows, the writing was on the wall: pending the IAF exhausting its stocks of Brahmos and SCALP-EGs, Pakistan had nothing left to counter these.

- This became obvious when Jaguar DARIN fighter-bombers of the IAF deployed Israeli-made Rampage missiles to strike the Sukkur AB, while somebody/something else blew up both entrances to the underground nuclear storage site at the Mushaf AB (Sarghoda complex) in the Kirma [sic] Hills.

- Additionally, when - around 04.00hrs in the morning, local time - several PAF figher-bombers appraoched the border area, two were claimed as shot down by Indian SAMs in the Srinagar area, and one in the Baramulla-Budgam area.

- I have my doubts about anybody from the outside playing any kind of a ‘crucial’ role in bringing this affair to its end.

- New Delhi has switched its strategy, and henceforth, Pakistan must expect similar – military – response to any kind of additional terror attacks into India. Pakistan’s deterrent has failed: actually, now it’s non-existing (especially if the Indians continue improving their stocks of air defence ammunition).

- The fighting also stopped without Islamabad at least trying to address the issue of New Delhi’s suspension of the Indus Water Treaty.

- Whether Beijing might ‘rush’ to replace Pakistani losses and the expenditure of ammunition is also questionable: I don’t think this is likely to happen – except ‘somebody’ (read: Qatar) pays.

[Shameek]

There seem to be many people here that are back to usual theatrics:
- Trying to get validation from Western sources for our claims/victory.
- Even worse, believing what the enemy says and somehow expecting that they are going to accept their losses and validate our claims.
- Working this like a numbers game - we lost x they should lose y.

If we fight wars counting numbers nothing will be a victory. Think of it as army A and army B fighting to capture a piece of land. Both armies send 10 soldiers to fight. Army A loses 5 soldiers but captures the land. Army B loses 2 soldiers only and then retreats. Who won?

[Rakesh]

VIDEO: https://x.com/ShivAroor/status/1922271359033344505 ---> Jaw-dropping high rez imagery of the damage caused by IAF missiles at PAF bases—first on @ndtv. @VishnuNDTV & I chat about what the images show and why they present new pain for Pakistan’s fantasy world.

[Rakesh]

VIDEO: https://x.com/ShivAroor/status/1922101616078979227 ---> Historic. Indian Navy’s role in Op Sindoor slowly being revealed—it wasn’t just primed for a devastating strike on Karachi harbour, but INS Vikrant’s prowling MiG-29Ks kept all PAF/PN air ops caged to the shore, with zero Pak over-ocean missions.

[Rakesh]

MAKE SURE YOU WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW. YOU WILL BE SMILING FROM EAR TO EAR.

VIDEO: https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1922230400794992765 ---> Interacted with the air warriors and soldiers at AFS Adampur. Their courage and professionalism in protecting our nation are commendable.

https://x.com/ShivAroor/status/1922235840199045494 --->

“We now work on 3 principles:
Terror attacks will attract action at time & place of our choosing.
Nuclear blackmail won’t stop us.
We won’t differentiate between terror targets & Pak military.”

~ PM Modi at AFS Adampur

^^^ The above three principles are a game changer. The Porkies will now sweat with Point 3.