How India outsmarted Pakistan's drone warfare during Operation Sindoor

Pointing out that Operation Sindoor highlighted the importance of indigenously developed counter-UAS systems built for India's terrain, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan said on Wednesday that India should invest and build to safeguard itself.

 

Speaking at a day-long workshop on 'Indigenisation of Critical Components Currently Being Imported from Foreign OEMs in the Areas of UAV and C-UAS', the CDS noted that the development of drones is evolutionary, and their employment has been very revolutionary in warfare.

 

The recent military conflict between India and Pakistan signaled a dramatic shift to technology-driven deterrence in the region, emphasising how drones, data, and digital warfare are shaping the warfare. 

 

"As the realisation of their deployment and scope increased, the Indian Army started using drones in a revolutionary manner, you have seen this in a number of wars fought by us," he said to an audience consisting of relevant stakeholders, including defence experts, policymakers, military leaders, scientists, and private industry players.

 

Against the backdrop of recent India-Pakistan hostilities, including Operation Sindoor, he said Pakistan used plenty of unarmed drones and loitering munitions on May 10, but none inflicted any damage to Indian military or civil infrastructure. "Most were neutralised through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic means, and some were even recovered in almost intact condition," he added.

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Highlighting the importance of drone warfare, he said their widespread use in recent conflicts around the world demonstrates how drones can shift tactical balance disproportionately to their size or price.

 

"Asymmetric drone warfare is making large platforms vulnerable and driving militaries to rethink the conceptual aspects of air doctrines, development of C-UAS and adaptive moves of engagement."

 

Reiterating that self-reliance in defence is of extreme importance, Gen Chauhan asserted that we cannot rely on imported niche technologies that are crucial for our offensive and defensive missions.

 

"Dependence on foreign technologies weakens our preparedness, limits our ability to scale up production, results in a shortfall of critical spares for sustenance and round-the-clock availability," he said.

Defence