Drones As Weapons Of Warfare: How Operation Sindoor Marks A Critical Turning Point

News18

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Operation Sindoor demonstrates how drones can be employed within the bounds of international law as instruments of national defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter
On June 1, 2025, Ukraine launched its most ambitious drone offensive against Russia, called Operation Spiderweb. This meticulously coordinated strike targeted multiple Russian airbases across vast distances, inflicting nearly $7 billion in damages and significantly degrading Russia's long-range strike capability. The operation has established drone warfare as a defining feature of 21st-century conflict, with profound implications for international law and security strategy.
Similarly, India's Operation Sindoor in May 2025 marked a critical turning point in South Asia's drone landscape. Launched in response to a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the operation aimed to dismantle cross-border terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Together, these operations raise an urgent question: how is drone warfare regulated under international law, and what should be India's path forward in this increasingly contested aerial domain?
Drones and the Law: A Grey Sky
Despite their growing role in warfare, drones remain under-regulated in international law. There is no treaty that specifically addresses unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in conflict. Instead, existing frameworks such as the UN Charter and international humanitarian law (IHL) offer the primary legal guidance.
Under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, the use or threat of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state is prohibited. This includes drone strikes. However, Article 51 provides an exception: the right to self-defence in response to an armed attack. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in the landmark Nicaragua v. United States case, emphasised that even indirect uses of force, such as arming or training insurgents, could trigger this right, though the majority opinion set a high threshold. The dissenting opinion by Judge Jennings, however, advocated a broader view, suggesting that even logistical support could constitute an armed attack.
The principles of necessity and proportionality, derived from customary law and famously articulated in the Caroline doctrine, further define lawful self-defence. The response must be immediate, overwhelming, and without reasonable alternatives. These principles apply whether the conflict is conventional or fought through unmanned systems.
If a drone strike occurs during peacetime, it is governed by the UN Charter; during wartime, IHL principles apply. These include distinction (between combatants and civilians), proportionality (minimising civilian harm), and military necessity.
Operation Sindoor: A Different Drone Doctrine
India's Operation Sindoor represents a different approach. India's use of drones was primarily for surveillance, mapping, and targeting rogue UAVs entering Indian airspace from Pakistan.
This reflects India's broader security posture, which is strategic restraint in a nuclear-armed neighbourhood. Operation Sindoor demonstrates how drones can be employed within the bounds of international law as instruments of national defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Securing the Skies: India's Next Steps
Operation Sindoor must catalyse the development of a robust, multi-layered airspace defence architecture through a series of steps. India must modernise both its technology and its legal framework by deploying counter-drone technologies such as radar-integrated systems, RF jammers, and laser-based weapons to detect and neutralise rogue UAVs swiftly; by integrating civil and military airspace monitoring through protocols that unify intelligence gathering between the Indian Air Force, civil aviation authorities, and local law enforcement; establishing legal rules of engagement that define clear domestic laws for when and how drones can be intercepted, including scenarios where the origin or operator is unknown and finally, through regional norm-setting by proposing South Asian agreements on drone use that focus on transparency, incident investigation, and civilian protection to reduce the risk of accidental escalation.
Drones are reshaping the battlefield from Eastern Europe to South Asia. While Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb reflects lawful self-defence during wartime, India's Operation Sindoor shows how drones can be used with restraint, precision, and legality in peacetime conflict scenarios. Sovereignty in the 21st century will be defined not just by the ability to defend land or sea, but by securing the skies.