14 Lessons Learnt from Operation Sindoor
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India's indigenous weapons performed exceptionally during the conflict
India's Operation Sindoor that started in the early hours of May 7 this year has important lessons for terrorists, Pakistan, Turkey, China and India.
For Terrorists
The mission's objective was to dismantle terrorist infrastructure within Pakistan. The operation extended beyond border military posts, targeting and destroying locations deep inside Pakistani territory. This level of destruction aimed to create a significant psychological impact on terrorists and their supporters, demonstrating that no location is now beyond reach.
2. The Pakistani military and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) are not always capable of protecting them from Indian action.
3. Key leaders and heads of terrorist organisations suffered personal losses, experiencing the consequences of their own violence.
4. High Value Targets (HVTs) or notorious terrorists were neutralised. The Government of India (GoI) released the names of five such HVTs:
(a) Mudassar Khadian Khas alias Mudassar alias Abu Jundal
He was given a guard of honour at his funeral by the Pakistan Army. Wreaths were laid on behalf of the Pakistan Army Chief and the Chief Minister of Punjab (Maryam Nawaz). His funeral prayer was conducted in a government school, led by Hafiz Abdul Rauf of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah (JuD), a designated global terrorist organization. Sky News reports corroborated that Markaz Taiba in Muridke was utilized by Lashkar-e-Taiba for training terrorists.
He was the eldest brother-in-law of Maulana Masood Azhar and in-charge of Markaz Subhan Allah, Bahawalpur; he was actively involved in the radical indoctrination of youth and fundraising for JeM.
(c) Mohammad Yusuf Azhar alias Ustad Ji alias Mohd Salim alias Ghosi Sahab
He was brother-in-law of Maulana Masood Azhar. He handled weapons training for JeM. He was also involved in multiple terrorist attacks in Jammu & Kashmir. He was wanted in the IC-814 hijacking case.
(d) Khalid alias Abu Akasha
Affiliation: Lashkar-e-Taiba
He was involved in multiple terrorist attacks in Jammu & Kashmir. Engaged in weapons smuggling from Afghanistan.
(e) Mohammad Hassan Khan
Affiliation: Jaish-e-Mohammed
Son of Mufti Asghar Khan Kashmiri, he was Operational commander of JeM in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). He had played a key role in coordinating terrorist attacks in Jammu & Kashmir.
5. Terrorists are deeply embedded in Pakistan Armed Forces and ISI and they are not non-state actors. They are part of the Pakistan state.
For Pakistan
The Pakistan military's capabilities were exposed in several ways.
(a) It failed to protect its 12 highly guarded Air Bases, located deep inside Pakistan and spread across from POK to Sindh. Indian strikes deliberately targeted either the runway or secondary infrastructure, demonstrating India's ability to strike at will without Pakistani interference.
(b) Pakistan's nuclear deterrent was challenged. India successfully targeted entry points of nuclear storage facilities at Kirana Hills and Sargodha, effectively undermining Pakistan's nuclear security by implying their potential for destruction if necessary.
(c) The Pakistani military's Chinese Air Defence systems failed to intercept Indian missiles that targeted infrastructure inside Pakistan with impunity. Conversely, all Pakistani strikes using Chinese and Turkish drones/missiles were successfully intercepted by Indian Air Defence.
(d) Pakistan even launched its Surface to Surface Missiles Fatah 1 & 2, but these were also destroyed by Indian Air Defence.
(e) The Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) of Pakistan consistently stated that they would retaliate, even announcing an operation named 'Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos" (Iron Wall) on May 10, only to agree to a 'ceasefire' on the same day. The promised retaliation never materialised due to the actions of the Indian Armed Forces.
(f) Pakistan reportedly lost a Saab 2000 Erieye AEW&C aircraft in an Indian strike. This represents a significant loss for any air force. Notably, Pakistan had recently retired its entire fleet of Chinese ZDK-03 Karakoram Eagle AWACS due to their poor performance. The lost Saab 2000 AEW&C was the same aircraft that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had used during the Balakot Standoff for their retaliatory strike.
For China
7. The Chinese Air Defence systems (HQ-9 & HQ-16) failed to intercept Indian missiles and drones. Over the past decade, Pakistan's reliance on Chinese armaments had increased from 36 per cent to 80 per cent. During initial strikes, the PAF allegedly circulated reports of downing an Indian Rafale aircraft, which China enthusiastically publicized. However, when the Indian Air Force (IAF) launched strikes against Pakistani military assets, Chinese systems failed to protect Pakistan's strategic assets.
8. China issued statements of support for Pakistan but failed to deter India from launching its strikes against Pakistani strategic targets deep inside Pakistan.
9. China is likely to lose some major contracts especially with African nations for the supply of these air defence systems following their poor performance.
For Turkey
10. Turkish Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) such as the TB2 Bayraktar gained popularity after the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Pakistan and Bangladesh have purchased these UCAVs. However, Pakistan failed to effectively utilise these UCAVs due to the strong Indian Air Defence cover. In contrast to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict where Armenia lacked a credible Air Defence system, India has deployed layers of effective Air Defence systems comprising indigenous, Russian, and Israeli technologies.
11. Other Turkish Kamikaze drones also failed to breach Indian Air Defence and make any impact, despite Pakistan reportedly launching 300-400 such drones in a single night.
For India
12. India may have incurred some damage during this conflict. Consistent with India's record of transparency, the Indian Armed Forces will disclose any losses suffered in due course. In contrast, Pakistan is unlikely to admit to its losses. It is important to note that the IAF's initial mandate was solely to engage terrorist infrastructure, and no Pakistani Air Defence assets were targeted or suppressed. Therefore, the IAF operated in extremely hostile conditions. However, after Pakistan targeted Indian military locations, the IAF proceeded to destroy Pakistan's strategic targets with impunity.
13. Indian indigenous weapons performed exceptionally during the conflict. The Akash Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system and the upgraded L-70 anti-aircraft guns (now with integrated radar, making them all-weather systems) ensured that no drones or missiles hit Indian cities. Air-Launched BrahMos missiles targeted locations deep inside Pakistan and could not be intercepted by Pakistani systems.
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14. Indian response has been following proportional escalation — Uri Surgical Strikes, Balakot Air Strike and now Missile strikes inside Pakistan heartland.
The writer is an author and a columnist. His X handle is @ArunAnandLive. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views.
tags :
China Operation Sindoor Pahalgam attack pakistan
Location :
New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
May 12, 2025, 15:14 IST
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