Made in China, broken in war: How Chinese-supplied air defence system did not intercept a single missile fired under ‘Operation Sindoor’
In a significant escalation with far-reaching consequences, India launched precision strikes on nine terrorist camps deep within Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the early hours of Wednesday. But beyond the destruction of terror infrastructure, Operation Sindoor delivered an even more resounding blow—to the credibility of Pakistan’s Chinese-supplied air defence systems and, by extension, to Beijing’s claims of military superiority.
The Indian Air Force, in a meticulously coordinated mission, deployed SCALP cruise missiles from its Rafale fighter jets. These French-origin munitions, renowned for their stealth, range of over 500 kilometers, and terrain-hugging flight paths, flew undetected across Pakistani airspace. They struck with surgical precision. Not a single missile was intercepted.
And that’s what makes this operation historic.
Pakistan’s airspace was supposedly guarded by the HQ-9 and LY-80 (HQ-16) air defence systems—Chinese-made platforms often paraded by Islamabad as state-of-the-art solutions against aerial threats. The HQ-9, modeled after Russia’s S-300, is marketed as capable of detecting and neutralizing threats mid-air. Yet, during Operation Sindoor, these systems neither saw the missiles coming nor reacted when they did.
The result: complete strategic paralysis.
India’s use of advanced electronic warfare techniques—including decoys, signal suppression, and radar jamming—turned Pakistan’s air defence grid into a sitting duck. In the seconds it took for Indian missiles to obliterate high-value terrorist targets in Bahawalpur, Muridke, Muzaffarabad, and Kotli, Pakistan’s multi-billion-dollar missile shield stood frozen—useless, blind, and humiliated.
This isn’t a one-off failure. It’s the latest chapter in a string of embarrassing breakdowns. In 2011, U.S. Navy SEALs raided Abbottabad without challenge. In 2019, Indian jets struck Balakot with impunity. In 2022, a stray Indian BrahMos missile pierced 120 km into Pakistan undetected. Each time, the Chinese-supplied systems failed.
However, Operation Sindoor is the most damning verdict yet—a real-time battlefield test that exposed not only operational inefficiency but systemic flaws in Pakistan’s reliance on imported unreliable Chinese tech.
Despite years of procurement and upgrades, Pakistan’s integrated air defence network collapsed the moment it was put to the test. The HQ-9’s inability to track the incoming SCALPs suggests either catastrophic detection failure or critical delays in response. In either case, it raises uncomfortable questions: How effective is Beijing’s export-grade military hardware? And how wise is Islamabad’s overreliance on it?
Pakistan has confirmed over 50 terrorist casualties, though sources suggest the real number may exceed 90. More importantly, the strike has devastated whatever confidence Islamabad may have placed in its so-called “iron dome.”
For China, the operation is a diplomatic embarrassment and a technological indictment. For Pakistan, it is a chilling reminder that defence deals do not guarantee security. And for India, Operation Sindoor reaffirms its growing prowess in next-generation stand-off warfare—blending stealth, precision, and psychological supremacy.
India didn’t just destroy terror camps. It dismantled myths—about Chinese power, Pakistani defence, and who holds the technological edge in South Asia.
Because in modern warfare, it’s not what your systems are called that matters. It’s whether they work when the enemy is already at your doorstep. This week, “Made in China” had another example of why Chinese-made tech are unreliable and junk—and Operation Sindoor made sure the world noticed.
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