Operation Sindoor - Post Conflict Analysis

[amol]

Bhai log, just a thought that came to my mind. Call it Khayali Pulao, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who's thought of this. Want to know how realistic/feasible this is given what we now know about IAF capabilities.

What if the IAF sent a large strike package towards the border and PAF scrambled a large number of fighters to counter them. Once they're all airborne, India launches a missile/Pinaka strike on the airfields and craters runways, making it difficult for them to land. Won't this be a quick way to take out a bunch of PAF aircraft, without having to actually target individual aircraft?

[williams]

Bhai log, just a thought that came to my mind. Call it Khayali Pulao, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who's thought of this. Want to know how realistic/feasible this is given what we now know about IAF capabilities.

What if the IAF sent a large strike package towards the border and PAF scrambled a large number of fighters to counter them. Once they're all airborne, India launches a missile/Pinaka strike on the airfields and craters runways, making it difficult for them to land. Won't this be a quick way to take out a bunch of PAF aircraft, without having to actually target individual aircraft?

They have enough roads to land and they've practiced it. It is the same way we practiced road landing.

[bala]

YT from Gunners shot with Lt. Gen P R Shankar (retd)

The talk provides enough detail on Integrated layered AD - Akash Teer. Lt. Gen P R Shankar talks about CEP 1m-3m of brahmos fired 240 km away in Andamans.

Operations Sindoor is a thorough military defeat for Pak Land - took out terror camps, air force bases and nuke sites. The nuke site destruction has changed the pak land red lines on their nuke bluff propogated by the US and China for Pak land. India does not have any fear of the nuke threat of Pak land.

Abrogation of 370 was political defeat for Pak Land. IWT Abeyance is an economic defeat for Pak Land.

China maal is viewed dimly in the world. Indian systems have gained massive respect and things like Akash and Brahmos are going to fly of the shelf in terms of export. The world at large now recognizes India is a major military power with actual results shown in battle. Indian Navy previously showed the rest who is the boss in Indian Ocean.

Implications of Pakistan's Celebration of Defeat / Mr Sanjay Dixit / Maj Gen Rajiv Narayanan

May 16, 2025

[Jay]

They have enough roads to land and they've practiced it. It is the same way we practiced road landing.

They have enough to land a few on prepared highways, but in this situation where they have to land impromptu and without any actual coordination is nigh difficult. In this scenario, how would they even send some one to clear these highways of traffic, obstacles, coordinate with ground crews to do a road check(tarmac check) of debris? These kinds of practice landings and take offs from highways is possible only after highly sanitized ground ops. I doubt of this practices viability to land mass formations impromptu.

[fanne]

This landing business on highway only works from pre agreed/planned spots. In that case they are forward fields at best. If they land anywhere else, even if they manage, how they will get aviation fuel to refuel, technician, bombs, missiles etc. Radar support to vector in for the enemy or where to go and fight. It is a decent alternative but not a very great one.

[chetak]

Bhai log, just a thought that came to my mind. Call it Khayali Pulao, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who's thought of this. Want to know how realistic/feasible this is given what we now know about IAF capabilities.

What if the IAF sent a large strike package towards the border and PAF scrambled a large number of fighters to counter them. Once they're all airborne, India launches a missile/Pinaka strike on the airfields and craters runways, making it difficult for them to land. Won't this be a quick way to take out a bunch of PAF aircraft, without having to actually target individual aircraft?

amol ji,

In the past these porkis have landed, rearmed and refuelled at some eyeraanian bases.

Surely they will do so again.

Despite appearances to the contrary, eyeraan has never been a friend of India's.

[durairaaj]

One item that was not questioned yet is the role of of Saudi or their silence and near absence during the whole episode.
Pahalgam massacre happened, when Modi ji was visiting Saudi Arabia. For the visit, Modi was given exceptional welcome with several fighters circling his plane. He was almost lulled in to complacency. (Modi has to be careful of foreign visits, henceforth)

If the visit was to benefit Saudi, then Pakisthan playing spoilsport with such a dastardly act would not be condoned by Saudi.

A month before Pahalgam massacre, Paki army chief and PM visited the Saudi Arabia. I don't think it was just a state visit. Some winking and nodding might have happened.

[S_Madhukar]

Durairajji, indeed all these “friends” fear the Great Khan as well so it’s not beyond them to have tested how good our guy is with an eye on the future. The billion $ deals signed show they have paid due respects to the Khan

[SRajesh]

Chetakji
No muslim nation is our friend!! period.
All these awards given to NaMo is just maybe just an eyewash.
Look at Saudi or UAE or Oman studious silence.
Look what OIC did recently.
They are letting Eyeranians and Qataris do all the talking while they kowtow to Massa and send munna moolah secretly or maybe free oil!!
Out relations should henceforth be just transactional

[VinodTK]

Operation Sindoor: Rediscovery Of Utility Of Force

Editor-in-Chief Nitin A Gokhale and Editors Brig S K Chatterji (Retd) and Surya Gangadharan sat down with three retired military stalwarts, VAdm Anil Chopra, Lt Gen Raj Shukla and Air Marshal Ravi Kapoor to analyse India's response to the barbaric massacre in Pahalgam. The panelists unanimously viewed the operation as a success, with Admiral Chopra describing it as a "strong, measured, and professional response to a heinous act of terror," calling Pakistan's nuclear bluff and negating the long-standing policy of strategic restraint. Lieutenant General Raj Shukla echoed this, noting it was an "overwhelming success," a seminal moment for Indian statecraft, and highlighted the utility of force, stating, "India has rediscovered the utility of force." Air Marshal Ravi Kapoor emphasised the surprise element, the whole-of-nation approach, and the shift from a defensive to an offensive doctrine, aligning with India's stated objectives of decisive retaliation and no nuclear blackmail. This shift is reflected in the operation's execution, where India targeted terrorist camps first, then military targets. The panel also discussed future implications, with a focus on capacity building, indigenous defence production, and investment in emerging technologies like cyber, space, and directed energy weapons. This indicates a long-term strategy to enhance India's military capabilities, though the specifics are still under discussion and may face challenges in implementation.

[williams]

Chetakji
No muslim nation is our friend!! period.
All these awards given to NaMo is just maybe just an eyewash.
Look at Saudi or UAE or Oman studious silence.
Look what OIC did recently.
They are letting Eyeranians and Qataris do all the talking while they kowtow to Massa and send munna moolah secretly or maybe free oil!!
Out relations should henceforth be just transactional

As our comprehensive national power grows, we must shed ourselves of this mentality that X will be our friend against Y. It is the question of how to make X go against Y. Towards that end, we need to understand each of these countries and work towards a solution. Modi Sarkar's foreign policy is to nurture this sort of attitude. Sure the whole OIC appeared to have stood behind the Pakis. But did they indeed do that? How many countries promised oil, logistics support, weapons etc for the Pakis. They provided token support and then went about their lives.

We also need to raise the cost for these countries when they support the Pakis or terror network at large. Turkey is feeling the pain now and slowly they will realise the futility of supporting the Pakis. If we keep using our large economy and diaspora to get the message across, Pakis will slowly lose all support. Sometimes our leverage with these countries may not be that big, but we do have leverage.

[KL Dubey]

What if the IAF sent a large strike package towards the border and PAF scrambled a large number of fighters to counter them. Once they're all airborne, India launches a missile/Pinaka strike on the airfields and craters runways, making it difficult for them to land. Won't this be a quick way to take out a bunch of PAF aircraft, without having to actually target individual aircraft?

Why not reverse the order of operations, i.e. use mijjiles/raakits to crater the airfields/runways and destroy command-and-control infrastructure before sending any strike packages.

[SRajesh]

Williamsji
Oil is our weak spot
We cannot take it out on the Black Gold producers at least not yet!!
So we are in a transactional state whether we like it or not!!
Remember the Naval Commanders issue and the deal signed with Qatar later!!
We are not in the league of Unkil to demand moolah from them yet!!

[rohiths]

Approximately 150 thousand pakistani troops are present in Lahore Kharian Mangla Sialkot and Gujaranwala cantonments. They are near 90km of indian border and can be hit with Smerch Pinaka(Mangla Gujaranwala)along with 155mm guns and Grad MLRS (Lahore Kharian Sialkot). This will literally decimate the Pakistani army given sufficient concentration of artillery and MLRS. It will be more devastating than any air or naval attack. Imagine losing 150k soldiers it will be a stalingrad level loss

[chetak]

SAMAR Air Defence system: The choice of missile used will blow your mind

[SBajwa]

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Excellent discussion with Air Marshal G.S. Bedi (retd). He had 35 sorties in Kargil.

How Indian Air Force took down Pakistan Air Force, Indian Air Defence I Air Marshal GS Bedi

[A_Gupta]

Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Hamas wars are dragging on.

Say, it is because of NATO and Iranian support respectively.

Such support cannot be ruled out for Pakistan.

The truism that wars are easy to start but can be hard to end must be kept in mind.

India does not want war, it wants to be left unmolested.

[Avinandan]

Assume 50% of the missiles /MLRS will be intercepted.
Russia intercepts over 80% of HIMARS/Scalp missiles on similar high value targets.
Assume our own missile launch sites will be hit.

We need a combination of long distance drones, missiles and EW to take out radars and SAM and then airstrikes on at least maintenance
hangars, aircraft on the tarmac, ATC tower etc.

Thank you Deans ji & Dr nayar ji.
Assuming Pakistan would procure ( or gifted) more potent AD systems, at the moment I understand only Brahmos is the only missile in our arsenal to beat (or very fair chances at the least) to beat any AD.

REQUIREMENT: MOST economical way to annihilate PAF

So how about

Stage 1 : DEAD
Launch few 100 Brahmos
Or
Overwhelm AD with few 100 decoys (PTA and Abhyas Drones mimicking fighter planes) among Cheaper guided Munitions. (We need better decoys that are faster and much cheaper)

Stage 2: Runway Attack
Long Range AAM Missiles or PGM or SAAW

Stage 3: Attack Aircraft On Tarmac
MLRS/Artillery Fire/Glide Bombs for nearby AFB in range
&
Loitering Drones, Long Range AAM Missiles
(By the way can any fast expendable could be created carrying and launching about 5 to 10 GBU sensor fuzed weapon,,/or its variant could be used on fighter planes and choppers on ground)

Stage 4. ATC Tower and HAS and Maintenance Hangars etc
Long range ASM and Bunker busting bombs

That would pretty much cover PAF, just that 1,2,3,4 could be executed in quick succession say about 10 minutes or
sneaking in couple of MOABs ( assuming desi jugaad of this) after Stage3 after step 1 to send the message loud and clear

Alternative for 2,3,4: Hire mercenaries to wipe up everything, just supply cheap C4s

Remember, we need more economical way.

There was a post with indicative cost of Shell, Rockets , ,bombs, Missiles etc about couple of Months back. Could not find the post. Could somebody share the Cost Structure of the various available weapons, Munitions,Missiles(both ASM and Surface Lanched Short Range Ballistic Missile ?

[RCase]

(I know SBajwa had posted the video, but it shows an error message).

Adi Achint in discussion with Air Marshal G.S. Bedi (retd). The most logical discussion on the air war and debunking the Paki narrative. Very clinical and logical assessment, without any jingoism. Hitting terrorist targets first and then the AD, radars, air assets in the second phase was the price India paid for the 'morality' of the war goals - hitting only terrorist target and declaring intent of non-escalation. The second phase was due to the Pakis choosing the escalation by targeting military and civilian targets. Paki claims of downing aircraft could have been easily proved by the Pakis by showing radar plot of aircraft and missile, but they did not have anything to show.

How Indian Air Force took down Pakistan Air Force, Indian Air Defence I Air Marshal GS Bedi

[V_Raman]

Was there use of the Indian SAMAR (R73/R27 on trucks) system to hit the drones? Is that part of the Akashteer grid?

[SBajwa]

Rcase! Yes! Air Marshal G.S. Bedi (retd). wants us to lead the information warfare with this information that he provides for us naive. He explains it so simply. This is a must watch for all!! please do!!! I just fixed it!

[RCase]

Rcase! Yes! Air Marshal G.S. Bedi (retd). wants us to lead the information warfare with this information that he provides for us naive. He explains it so simply. This is a must watch for all!! please do!!! I just fixed it!

This video is a must see for the member who was putting out stories of 'collective targeting' of the PL-15 missiles on day1 where the IAF were flying like morons into a swarm of PL-15 missiles guided by their AWACS to score hits. The AM has given a clean clinical analysis of such theories being impossible canards.

[sanjayc]

Was there use of the Indian SAMAR (R73/R27 on trucks) system to hit the drones? Is that part of the Akashteer grid?

https://www.businesstoday.in/india/stor ... 2025-05-09

Pak swarm meets SAMAR's fury, Pechora's precision: India's iron shield crushes Pakistan's drone invasion

Army deployed a range of weapons systems, including Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS), Pechora missiles, SAMAR platforms, and air defence guns like the L-70 and Zu-23mm.

India's integrated air defence systems responded swiftly and decisively as Pakistan launched coordinated drone and missile attacks across the western border on the intervening night of May 8–9. Over 50 drones were shot down during the engagement, which extended across key military zones in Jammu, Udhampur, Samba, Akhnoor, Nagrota, and Pathankot.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) and Army deployed a range of weapons systems, including Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS), Pechora missiles, SAMAR platforms, and air defence guns like the L-70 and Zu-23mm. "The Air Defence Umbrella that IAF provides ensures the population is safe," the IAF said.

It added, “The impregnable air defence wall of IAF remains vigilant. We also responded in a measured and calibrated manner.”

Pakistan's offensive included drone swarms and multiple ceasefire violations along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. “All nefarious designs will be responded with force,” the Indian Army said. Military stations at Jammu, Pathankot, and Udhampur were among the targets. However, the Ministry of Defence confirmed there were “no casualties or material losses,” adding that the threats were “swiftly neutralised using kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities in line with the established standard operating procedures (SOPs).”

Also, the Madein-India Akash surface-to-air missile air defence system had been effectively used by the Indian armed forces in foiling Pakistani attacks towards Indian targets. "Both the Indian Army and Air Force have the missile system all along the Pakistan border," defence officials told ANI.

Key defence systems in action

CUAS-HK: Smart tracking and hard kills

India’s Counter Unmanned Aircraft System – Hard Kill (CUAS-HK) played a crucial role in intercepting the drone swarm. The system detects, tracks, identifies, and neutralises UAS threats using both soft kill and hard kill techniques. It helps enforce no-fly zones with minimal collateral damage and provides operators with a “composite air situation” view for real-time decision-making.

SAMAR: Indigenous air defence with Soviet bite

The SAMAR (Surface-to-Air Missile for Assured Retaliation) system is a short-range indigenous air defence solution developed by the IAF, using repurposed Russian-origin missiles. SAMAR-1 employs Vympel R-73E missiles with a range of 8 km, while SAMAR-2 extends the strike radius to nearly 30 km using R-27 missiles. The system is tailored to counter low-flying threats like drones, helicopters, and fighters.

Pechora: Soviet legacy still in service

The Soviet-origin Pechora surface-to-air missile system continues to be a cornerstone of India’s air defence network. Deployed to protect critical assets like airfields, it can target manned and unmanned threats flying at various altitudes. With capabilities in high-interference environments and diverse trajectory interceptions, Pechora remains a vital deterrent in layered air defence.

[suryag]

Sir kicked butt, makes mincemeat, how many jokes with a straight face

[A_Gupta]

Air Marshal G.S. Bedi (retd). should be asked by the GoI to head a new information warfare division.

[k prasad]

Air Marshal G.S. Bedi (retd). should be asked by the GoI to head a new information warfare division.

I'm sure there are at least a hundred equally capable people who we have never heard of who can do that role, and we've never heard of them precisely because they're still serving. In his time, AM Bedi would've been one of them. We are blessed that way!

[uddu]

S-400 not used. So it was all the L70, SAMAR, Akash (F-16, JF-17s) and AAD (Against Fateh)? Did Akash bring down Fateh? Okay. What Shri Saraswat said was Except the S-400 used in this conflict everything else is from DRDO.

https://x.com/Indrani1_Roy/status/1923438561036054640 --->
Many insights into weapons used, weapons intercepted and chronology of events.

- 400 - 500 incoming UAVs/missiles intercepted.
- S-400 was not used.
- All military targets hit with 11 surface to surface Brahmos within 23 mins after Op Sindoor objectives were met.

[vera_k]

I read elsewhere that MRSAM brought down Fateh. Dr Saraswat mentions MRSAM was used as well in this interview.

[uddu]

I read elsewhere that MRSAM brought down fateh. Dr Saraswat mentions MRSAM was used as well in this interview.

Against Pakistan, even legacy systems performed well.

The Indian Armed Forces deployed a mix of legacy systems like Pechora, OSA-AK, and LLAD guns (Low-le... Read more at: https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/in ... r-pk4epg30

The Indian Armed Forces deployed a mix of legacy systems like Pechora, OSA-AK, and LLAD guns (Low-level air defence guns) along with modern, indigenously developed platforms such as the Akash Surface-to-Air Missile system, which proved highly effective. The Akash system, capable of engaging multiple targets simultaneously, performed with distinction and demonstrated India’s growing capability to counter aerial threats independently.

Fatah-II Rocket got intercepted by MRSAM.
https://idrw.org/indian-mr-sam-neutrali ... ing-s-400/

[williams]

S-400 not used. So it was all the L70, SAMAR, Akash (F-16, JF-17s) and AAD (Against Fateh)? Did Akash bring down Fateh? Okay. What Shri Saraswat said was Except the S-400 used in this conflict everything else is from DRDO.

https://x.com/Indrani1_Roy/status/1923438561036054640 --->
Many insights into weapons used, weapons intercepted and chronology of events.

- 400 - 500 incoming UAVs/missiles intercepted.
- S-400 was not used.
- All military targets hit with 11 surface to surface Brahmos within 23 mins after Op Sindoor objectives were met.

Network centric warfare demonstrated just in plain sight is like watching a Hollywood movie live. Pakis with Chinese and Turkish ding dongs should be green with jealousy and frustration. I am thinking the unfortunate result of this spectacular success is going to be US pulling the plug on Tejas engines. We'll see.

[uddu]

Network centric warfare demonstrated just in plain sight is like watching a Hollywood movie live. Pakis with Chinese and Turkish ding dongs should be green with jealousy and frustration. I am thinking the unfortunate result of this spectacular success is going to be US pulling the plug on Tejas engines. We'll see.

They will not for F404 for the time being. That will keep coming, since Brahmos and GTRE are working on new afterburner section for Kaveri. Keep an eye on F414. There is a high risk of Tejas MK2 and AMCA sabotaged by denying engines to us.

https://idrw.org/kaveri-derivative-engi ... er-engine/

[manish singh]

Rcase! Yes! Air Marshal G.S. Bedi (retd). wants us to lead the information warfare with this information that he provides for us naive. He explains it so simply. This is a must watch for all!! please do!!! I just fixed it!

This video is a must see for the member who was putting out stories of 'collective targeting' of the PL-15 missiles on day1 where the IAF were flying like morons into a swarm of PL-15 missiles guided by their AWACS to score hits. The AM has given a clean clinical analysis of such theories being impossible canards.

Probably the above jibe is aimed at me. No need to be snarky. Narratives detrimental to us need to be pointed out and subsequently foiled. As for Tom Cooper's narrative regarding 'cooperative targeting', it was foiled the day of the PIB release that there was no loss of our assets.

[sanjaykumar]

It’s easier to get a beating, declare victory and celebrate yom e bamboozle.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1911376/we-wo ... -neighbour

[sidp]

Do we have any confirmed news about Paki pilots captured alive? I wonder if Kulbhushan can be exchanged for them.

[Prem Kumar]

...

Assume 50% of the missiles /MLRS will be intercepted.
Russia intercepts over 80% of HIMARS/Scalp missiles on similar high value targets.
Assume our own missile launch sites will be hit.

We need a combination of long distance drones, missiles and EW to take out radars and SAM and then airstrikes on at least maintenance
hangars, aircraft on the tarmac, ATC tower etc.

1) As we saw, the ability of Paki AD to intercept our missiles is minimal. 50% is giving them too much credit
2) We need 1000s of Pralays to do the job. Literally 0% of them will be intercepted, considering that they fly at Mach 5

Pralay, with its single digit accuracy + 500 Kg+ warhead will create so much overpressure that it will make the HAS collapse on itself. It should be the lead weapon in our decapitation strike. Its cheap too

We should let go of preconceived notions like airbases must be taken out only with air-launched precision munitions. Sure, they will also come into play. But the brute force attack (door opener) should come from Pralays. We can do this *today*, if we order enough of them

I am of the opinion that PAF aircrafts & airbases can be taken out in 1 night tops

[ashthor]

I will repeat again its Shock & Awe 2.0 both for the world and us. Lets keeps using these words...let it
filter down...Shock & Awe 2.0.

[chetak]

I read elsewhere that MRSAM brought down fateh. Dr Saraswat mentions MRSAM was used as well in this interview.

vera_k ji,

Can you imagine where we would have been today if that fateh had hit dilli as intended.

Modi ji would have slaughtered them and the pakis would have seen carnage of their suar land on a scale that they couldn't have ever imagined.

Clearly there are rogue elements within the suar army who had attempted to take charge of the narrative and precipitate a catastrophe upon themselves.

[nishant.gupta]

Against Pakistan, even legacy systems performed well.

A weapon is as good as the wielder. Indian forces have proven this time and time again since Independence. Smart use of older weapon systems can work wonders. A Shilka or an L70 are also guns which fire accurately. We connected them to our highly sophisticated radars and used their primary feature of firing ammunition. Given our amazing scientists as well as the dedicated and disciplined armed forces, I am sure our Shock and Awe strategy has a lot more up its sleeve that what we used against these jihadis. And I am sure that is what is scaring the pants off the chinese and americans as the Air Marshal sir as well as General sir had also mentioned in the videos.

[prashantsharma]

QUESTION - There were videos uploaded by Pak public of huge explosions at Rafiqui / Shorkot Rd airbase. But neither the IAF nor pvt handles like Detresfa have posted any satellite imagery of the damage.
Anyone knows why? Or did i miss it?

[Amber G.]

Meanwhile - Allow me to dive into a completely different kind of theme.

While Islamabad is busy planning its victory parade - because, you know, winning there is all about pomp and circumstance - let's talk about something slightly more substantial. But don't worry, it's not about laughing about those celebrations... yet..

Apparently, they've claimed to have delivered a 'jaw-breaking' response, aka "Muh tod jawab", regarding Kirana Hill, courtesy of their cyber team.

Let's dive into this thrilling saga.

Turkish Drones Breach Indian Digital Fort
- brought to you by our reliable sources:

NEW DELHI — In an incident more embarrassing than Rahul Gandhi’s exposé on EVM hacking that turned out to be a projector demo, a fleet of Turkish-made drones — reportedly named Bayraktar Bakra-X — infiltrated Indian airspace during the ongoing “understanding” (a.k.a. temporary ceasefire) between India and Pakistan.

The drones, which entered Punjab disguised as low-flying wedding photography units, bypassed air defense systems that were “in passive surveillance mode” during tea time.

Officials confirm the drones gained access to digital infrastructure by hovering near a government office and connecting to a public Wi-Fi named "NIC_Free4All" with the password "Modi@123". Once in, they downloaded over 70,000 Aadhaar cards, 4,000 voter IDs, and at least two forgotten UPI wallets with ₹13.40 in them.

“The good news is they didn’t steal military secrets,” said one cybersecurity official. “The bad news is they now have the biometric data of half the Delhi Metro ridership.”

Curiously, the drones also attempted to log into IRCTC to book Tatkal tickets for Lahore to Amritsar. They failed, reportedly due to the same CAPTCHA issue plaguing Indian citizens since 2011.

Government sources have assured the public that “strong countermeasures are being considered,” including hiring two ethical hackers and resetting the NIC Wi-Fi password to “Modi@1234.”

Meanwhile, one drone was spotted returning to request an OTP resend. The UIDAI has issued a general advisory: “If a flying object asks for your OTP, do not share.”

More updates after chai.