How Operation Sindoor was not only India's win over Pakistan, China, and Turkey arms but also a boost for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat'
ADVERTISEMENT India deployed BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and other precision weapons to strike terror bases and military targets deep inside Pakistan. The Indian armed forces also used indigenous Akash air defence missiles and D4 anti-drone systems to stop multiple Pakistani aerial attacks, allowing very few to get through.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the achievement in his address on May 12, saying, 'During this operation, the credibility of our Made-in-India weapons was firmly established. The world now recognises that the time for Made-in-India defence equipment in 21st-century warfare has arrived.'
For several years, the Indian government has promoted the use of locally made defence equipment. This effort is part of the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (Self-Reliant India) programme, which aims to reduce India's dependence on foreign weapons. As per a TOI report, the country's defence exports have also increased, reaching a record Rs 23,622 crore in 2024-25, a 12% rise from the previous year.The BrahMos missile is one of the world's fastest supersonic cruise missiles, flying at nearly three times the speed of sound (Mach 2.8). It is a product of BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
ADVERTISEMENT BrahMos can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, and land platforms. India has tested all its versions and inducted them into the military. In 2019, the missile's range was increased to 450 km, making India the only country to integrate long-range missiles into fighter jets like the Sukhoi 30.India has also exported BrahMos missiles, including a $375 million deal with the Philippines signed in 2022. Plans are underway to develop a hypersonic version, BrahMos-II, which will use scramjet technology to target deeply buried and heavily protected enemy sites.
ADVERTISEMENT Recently, a new BrahMos production and testing facility opened in Lucknow, capable of producing 100-150 missiles annually. India has two other production centres in Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram.The Akash missile, developed by DRDO and manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), is a short-range surface-to-air missile. It is part of India's layered air defence and played a key role in stopping Pakistani air strikes.
ADVERTISEMENT Akash can engage four aerial targets at once within a range of 25 km, while its newer version, Akash-NG, has an extended range of 70-80 km. It has electronic counter-countermeasure (ECCM) abilities to defeat enemy jamming.Designed for mobile platforms, Akash can be quickly deployed anywhere. Though often compared to Israel's Iron Dome, Akash is larger and can intercept missiles, drones, and aircraft. India signed a deal in 2022 to export 15 Akash units to Armenia. Brazil and Egypt are also interested.India used the DRDO-developed D4 anti-drone system to defend against Pakistani drone swarms during Operation Sindoor. The D4 system uses electronic jamming and spoofing to disable drones, including unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs).
ADVERTISEMENT It also has a laser-based kill method, though it's unclear if it was used in the recent conflict. D4 combines radars, radio frequency sensors, and electro-optical/infrared cameras for 360-degree detection of enemy drones.Several DRDO labs, including those in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Dehradun, contributed to developing the D4 system.India also relied on weapons developed with Israel, such as the Barak-8 missile and SkyStriker kamikaze drones, which helped in both defence and attack during the operation.Barak-8 is a medium-range surface-to-air missile jointly made by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries. It has mobile launchers for land and navy use, with a 70 km interception range. It is produced by Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems, and Tata Advanced Systems.SkyStriker is a precision loitering munition made by Israel's Elbit Systems and Adani Group's Alpha Design Technologies. It hovers over targets to identify and destroy threats, working autonomously or with human control.Despite the progress in indigenous weapons, India still depends heavily on arms imports. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India is the world's second-largest arms importer, with an 8.3% share between 2020 and 2024.Russia remains India's largest arms supplier, providing 36% of imports. However, India is diversifying, buying more weapons from countries like France, Israel, and the US, as Russia's share has steadily declined over the years.
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