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India used this battlefield hack to keep Soviet-era missile systems firing against Pakistan in Op Sindoor
During Operation Sindoor, the armed forces maintained the operational readiness of Pechora and Osa-AK missile systems through a logistical workaround, 'cannibalisation', wherein functional components from inactive units were transferred to active ones. This enabled the legacy systems to remain combat-ready and engage a range of aerial threats, including UAVs, loitering munitions and missiles.
Among the aerial defence systems that stood their ground were the Soviet origin surface-to-air missile systems like the Pechora and Osa-AK. Despite severe spare shortages, their combat readiness was sustained through a battlefield hack — cannibalising parts from inactive units to keep others operational.
New Delhi: As Pakistan launched waves of aerial attacks between 7 and 10 May, India's multi-layered air defence network stood firm. A mix of legacy Soviet-era systems and cutting-edge indigenous and imported platforms blunted threats across key fronts, protecting military bases and civilian areas and minimising damage.
With conventional supply chains no longer producing spares for these decades-old platforms, this method became essential. By systematically repurposing critical parts, the forces ensured that at least a portion of the SAM batteries stayed deployable throughout the operation.
Designed to counter fast-moving aerial targets, the Pechora (S-125 Neva/Pechora), inducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the early 1970s, is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system with a strike envelope of 25 km in range and 18 km in altitude.
The Osa-AK (SA-8 Gecko), a short-range, highly mobile SAM system, features all-in-one tracked launchers equipped with onboard radar and six ready-to-fire missiles, making it especially effective in defending forward airbases and command facilities.
Sources in the defence and security establishment said that anything detachable and reusable, such as radar transceivers, fire-control processors, command modules and data-link terminals, was identified, tested and reassigned wherever needed. This ensured that at least a portion of the ageing missile batteries remained functional and ready to intercept incoming threats.
'These legacy systems mostly have parts no longer in production. To keep the systems fully operational, the forces repurposed components from one unit to maintain two others in combat-ready condition,' said one of the sources.
As far back as 2010–2011, the IAF had issued global tenders to procure spares supporting its ageing Russian-origin surface-to-air missile systems and fighter platforms. While some parts were sourced through international vendors, parallel efforts were also launched to develop indigenous alternatives, including joint ventures with Russian firms and defence public sector undertakings such as Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
Despite these measures, gaps in availability persisted, particularly for high-end components including radar modules, electronic guidance units and missile interface assemblies. These shortages mainly stemmed as these legacy systems are no longer in production, making cannibalisation the only viable stopgap arrangement.
Though considered ageing by the early 2000s, modernisation of the Pechora system began with a Rs 2,000 crore project launched in 2016 in partnership with BEL and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to upgrade 60 firing units. This effort enhanced radar performance and replaced obsolete electronics, extending the system's service life.
Meanwhile, Osa-AK units have undergone periodic overhauls through similar Indian-Russian collaborations, ensuring that their radars and missiles remain serviceable.
These legacy platforms, the sources said, provided coverage across vast stretches of northern and western India, including Punjab, Gujarat, and Jammu & Kashmir, where newer systems were either deployed elsewhere or kept in reserve.
'Even the older and battle-proven air defence weapons like the Pechora, Osa-AK and AD guns performed effectively in countering the Pakistani threat vectors….our wall of air defence was impossible to breach,' Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, Director General Air Operations, said at a press conference.
That wall, as it turns out, was built not just with newly acquired cutting-edge platforms like MRSAM, but also with decades-old systems brought back to life through ingenuity and improvisation.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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