NEW DELHI: When Pakistan unleashed a swarm of drones Thursday to compensate for the humiliation inflicted by Operation Sindoor , it must have hoped to replicate the success Hamas registered on October 7, 2023, when it fired hundreds of missiles to overwhelm Israel's famed air defence.
Unfortunately for it, the Indian air defence shield held firm. Every single Pakistani drone, an overwhelming majority of them a contribution from Turkiye, was intercepted or neutralised before it could reach the intended target.
The success validated Modi government's decision to go ahead with the acquisition of S-400 Triumf air defence systems from Russia at a cost of Rs 35,000 crore in defiance of the US's threat to impose sanctions under 2017's Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The deal was signed in New Delhi in the presence of PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018.
The US law mandated sanctions on significant big-ticket defence transactions with Almaz-Antey, S-400's Russian manufacturer, and senior American functionaries, beginning with Mike Pompeo, secretary of state in Donald Trump's first term, warning India not to go ahead with the deal. There was no let-up in the threat of sanctions after the regime change, with Lloyd Austin, defence secretary under ex-president Joe Biden, taking up from where Pompeo left off.
India, however, stood its ground, with Modi govt asserting strategic autonomy and its right to determine national security priorities. It backed the toughness with astute lobbying in US Congress to secure bipartisan support for an amendment moved by Congressman Ro Khanna to exempt India from CAATSA. India's decision to buy Apache helicopters, P-81 maritime patrol, reconnaissance aircraft and other US platforms obviously facilitated matters and helped balance the assertion of autonomy.
The waiver has been integrated into the US-India Defence Cooperation Act which was, significantly, introduced by current US secretary of state Marco Rubio in 2024.
Russian began delivering the S-400 system in Dec 2021 despite its preoccupation with Ukraine. Three squadrons of S-400 are fully operational along the borders with Pakistan and China and constitute a crucial component of India's aerial shield that also comprises the Integrated Counter-Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) grid, Barak-8 missiles, Akash surface-to-air missiles and DRDO's anti-drone devices.
Sources said the robust air defence was the result of decade-long focus on developing a tech-driven air defence network "capable of detecting, jamming and eliminating threats before they breach" the country's airspace.
They emphasised that Operation Sindoor marked the "combat debut" of loitering munitions, or kamikaze drones, ordered in 2021 which are now indigenously produced. They caught Pakistan's defences unawares and carried out simultaneous precision strikes at multiple targets, including the prized headquarters of LeT and JeM at Muridke and Bahawalpur, respectively.
On Thursday, Israeli-origin Harop drones, now produced in India, were deployed to target and destroy air defence assets in Karachi and Lahore. The combination of drones, with Scalp missiles and Hammer smart bombs carried by Rafale jets, helped make Operation Sindoor the success it was.
Unfortunately for it, the Indian air defence shield held firm. Every single Pakistani drone, an overwhelming majority of them a contribution from Turkiye, was intercepted or neutralised before it could reach the intended target.
The success validated Modi government's decision to go ahead with the acquisition of S-400 Triumf air defence systems from Russia at a cost of Rs 35,000 crore in defiance of the US's threat to impose sanctions under 2017's Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The deal was signed in New Delhi in the presence of PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018.
The US law mandated sanctions on significant big-ticket defence transactions with Almaz-Antey, S-400's Russian manufacturer, and senior American functionaries, beginning with Mike Pompeo, secretary of state in Donald Trump's first term, warning India not to go ahead with the deal. There was no let-up in the threat of sanctions after the regime change, with Lloyd Austin, defence secretary under ex-president Joe Biden, taking up from where Pompeo left off.
India, however, stood its ground, with Modi govt asserting strategic autonomy and its right to determine national security priorities. It backed the toughness with astute lobbying in US Congress to secure bipartisan support for an amendment moved by Congressman Ro Khanna to exempt India from CAATSA. India's decision to buy Apache helicopters, P-81 maritime patrol, reconnaissance aircraft and other US platforms obviously facilitated matters and helped balance the assertion of autonomy.
The waiver has been integrated into the US-India Defence Cooperation Act which was, significantly, introduced by current US secretary of state Marco Rubio in 2024.
Russian began delivering the S-400 system in Dec 2021 despite its preoccupation with Ukraine. Three squadrons of S-400 are fully operational along the borders with Pakistan and China and constitute a crucial component of India's aerial shield that also comprises the Integrated Counter-Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) grid, Barak-8 missiles, Akash surface-to-air missiles and DRDO's anti-drone devices.
Sources said the robust air defence was the result of decade-long focus on developing a tech-driven air defence network "capable of detecting, jamming and eliminating threats before they breach" the country's airspace.
They emphasised that Operation Sindoor marked the "combat debut" of loitering munitions, or kamikaze drones, ordered in 2021 which are now indigenously produced. They caught Pakistan's defences unawares and carried out simultaneous precision strikes at multiple targets, including the prized headquarters of LeT and JeM at Muridke and Bahawalpur, respectively.
On Thursday, Israeli-origin Harop drones, now produced in India, were deployed to target and destroy air defence assets in Karachi and Lahore. The combination of drones, with Scalp missiles and Hammer smart bombs carried by Rafale jets, helped make Operation Sindoor the success it was.
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