India scrambles to plug defence gaps after Pakistan clash
This news comes right as India's deputy army chief claimed on Friday that China provided Pakistan with 'live inputs' during their deadly four-day conflict in May.
This stark revelation that has laid bare India's vulnerabilities in fighting what officials now say was a two-front battle.
Speaking at a defence industry event in New Delhi, Lieutenant General Rahul Singh said, 'When DGMO-level talks were going on, Pakistan… said 'We know your such-and-such important vector is primed.' He was getting live inputs from China.'
The statement was India's clearest public admission yet that Beijing's real-time intelligence - alongside advanced drones supplied by Turkey - caught India's forces off guard during one of the region's worst military escalations in decades.
The May conflict, triggered after an attack on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) that India blamed on Pakistan, saw waves of drone and missile strikes exchanged across the Line of Control.
Despite Indians modern air force, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down six Indian fighter jets, including at least three French Rafale fighters.
India was forced to recalibrate mid-conflict after the unexpected aerial losses and intelligence leaks, which defence planners now link directly to Chinese satellite and radar assistance for Islamabad.
India confirms Pakistan downed 'unspecified number' of fighter jets
For perspective, India is currently the world's second-largest arms importer, as per Bloomberg.
While India's relationship with China had been cautiously stabilising after their 2020 border clash, Singh's remarks have reopened old wounds - and forced New Delhi to admit that its integrated air defences and stockpiles were not fully prepared for a coordinated Pakistan-China front.
Emergency arsenal replenishment
In response, India has unleashed one of its biggest emergency weapons spending sprees in recent memory:
$12.3 billion in defence funds have been fast-tracked to aquire surface-to-air missiles, electronic warfare systems, armored recovery vehicles. The navy is set to acquire moored mines, mine countermeasures vessels, submersible autonomous vehicles and super rapid gun mounts. All equipment is meant to be produced in India, as per Bloomberg.
Major new orders include 100 K9 Vajra-T self-propelled howitzers from South Korea, multiple new Pinaka rocket regiments, and nearly 120 Pralay tactical ballistic missiles, meant to plug short-range strike gaps.
India's $230 million drone incentive plan, announced last week, aims to boost domestic production after Turkish-supplied Bayraktar drones gave Pakistan an unexpected edge in the skies, as per Reuters.
Indigenous production reforms
India's defence planners have also ordered an aggressive push to reduce dependency on foreign suppliers:
The Army now plans to phase out imports for 150 categories of ammunition by FY 2025–26, covering everything from artillery shells to tank rounds.
New indigenous artillery shells are under accelerated trials to meet a projected $1.2 billion demand over the next decade.
Defence procurement rules have been overhauled to slash acquisition cycles and remove bottlenecks.
Building integrated theatre commands
Beyond hardware, India's long-delayed push to reorganise its military structure is gaining urgency.
The creation of integrated theatre commands proposed earlier this year - bringing Army, Navy and Air Force assets under unified leadership - is now on fast track. Joint air defence commands will fuse the Army's battlefield radar network with the Air Force's Integrated Air Command and Control System, as well as the Navy's to plug any gaps.
The China factor: A new two-front reality
China's foreign ministry has yet to comment on Singh's remarks, while Pakistan maintains it did not orchestrate the Occupied Kashmir attack.
However, the episode has hardened views inside India's security establishment that any future conflict could again see Chinese satellites, radar feeds or cyber assets acting as a force multiplier for Pakistan.
'This makes urgent upgrades to our air defence posture non-negotiable,' Singh stressed on Friday, a clear signal that India's rearmament has become a necessity for the neighbour state.
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