The smiles on Rajnath Singh, 3 service chiefs tell a story
In a powerful image that swiftly made rounds on social media, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the chiefs of India's armed forces appeared composed and even smiling during a high-level, closed-door meeting in New Delhi. The meeting - attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, and Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi - came less than 24 hours after Pakistan launched a wave of drone and missile attacks along India's western border.The optics of the gathering were unmissable. Despite a night of unprovoked aggression from Pakistan, the top brass of India's defence establishment looked calm, confident, collected and even cheerful, sending a clear and deliberate message to the nation: India is secure, its leadership is alert, and there is no cause for alarm.Behind the composed exterior was the backdrop of a critical national security development. In the intervening night of May 8-9, Pakistan launched a barrage of swarm drones - loitering munitions aimed at destabilising India's military infrastructure along the Line of Control and the international border.These attempts were effectively repulsed thanks to India's robust and multi-layered air defence grid. The country's advanced systems, including interceptor missiles, radars, and integrated theatre commands, swung into action, successfully neutralising over 50 drones and safeguarding 15 critical defence sites across a vast 1,800-km stretch.The drone attack was seen as a retaliation to India's precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, in which the Indian armed forces targeted nine terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday. These strikes came in response to the barbaric April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which had stirred outrage across the nation.India's defensive strategy relied on a well-synchronised deployment of technologies such as C-UAS (Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems), Pechora missiles, SAMAR systems, and AD guns. The efficacy of these systems was evident as they intercepted multiple threats mid-air, turning Pakistani provocations into tactical failures.Tune InTrending Reel
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