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India Today
09-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Op Sindoor marks new era in India's military doctrine: US warfare expert John Spencer
John Spencer, Executive Director of the Urban Warfare Institute and a globally recognised authority on modern military operations, has shared his reflections on a recent visit to India, offering rare insights into the country's evolving defence posture and the growing sophistication of its military response a detailed post published on X, with a photograph of his meeting with India's Director General of Military Operations, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, Spencer described his visit as 'extremely informative,' underscoring a dramatic shift in India's national security old assumptions about India's strategic posture no longer apply,' Spencer wrote. 'The country is transforming in doctrine, technology, and geopolitical outlook.' A central theme of his post was Operation Sindoor, India's military response to the April 22 Pahalgam massacre, which Spencer called a 'strategic turning point.' According to him, Indian military leaders did not view the operation as a one-off counterterrorism action but as part of a new, proactive doctrine—focused on precision, speed, and emphasised the depth of preparation behind the operation, citing months of wargaming, intelligence fusion, and pre-positioned defense assets. Of particular note was India's reliance on long-range fires, including rocket artillery and loitering munitions, rather than traditional airstrikes. Seven out of nine identified terrorist targets were reportedly neutralised using these warfare featured prominently, with a layered defense system that combined radars, jammers, and both kinetic and soft-kill systems, including the effective use of legacy L-70 guns integrated with modern platforms. Persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) from satellites and human intelligence sources enabled real-time battle damage assessments.'What stood out was the clarity and firmness of India's red lines,' Spencer noted. 'Every terrorist attack will receive a military response. There will be no distinction between the attacker and those who support or harbor them.'Beyond the battlefield, Spencer detailed India's broader defense and technological transformation. He highlighted the growing role of private defense startups, including firms working on autonomous systems, GPS-independent drones, and indigenous air defense technologies — driven by India's 'Make in India' Kashmir, Spencer observed a notable shift in ground realities. While acknowledging the continued threat of cross-border infiltration, disinformation, and narrative manipulation, he reported growing tourism, infrastructure development, and democratic engagement. Local communities, he said, are increasingly rejecting extremist conversations spanned a wide range of strategic domains, including airpower, deterrence, cyber, space, semiconductors , and supply chain security. Yet, according to him, a singular message resonated across all sectors: 'India is preparing for the next war while working to protect the peace it is building at home.'He concluded by asserting that India is no longer waiting for global recognition of its capabilities. 'It is asserting itself. It is planning, modernizing, and executing with focus.'Spencer hinted that further detailed analysis would follow in the coming weeks. But even this initial report signals that India's strategic recalibration is being closely noted by international defense experts — and is fast becoming a defining case study in 21st-century deterrence and national resilience.- EndsMust Watch
Fox News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
CEASEFIRE: Can a pause in fighting lead to lasting peace where conflicts have become the norm?
President Donald Trump brokered an historic ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran on Monday, marking a dramatic pause in the most significant military confrontation between the two foes. The Monday evening announcement took effect 12 hours later, following a timeline designed to allow final military maneuvers on both sides. However, a barrage of Iranian missile fire in the hours that followed left many Israelis questioning whether the truce had already been violated. In an interview with Fox News Digital, John Spencer, executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute, said such delayed implementation is not unusual. "It's hard to turn things off on a switch. You have aircraft in flight. You have forces in position," he explained. Spencer described the U.S. operation as historic. "What's historic is that the U.S. carried out a limited operation on nuclear targets with zero losses—no pilot, no equipment—and helped Israel in a way only America could. Nuclear proliferation is nonpartisan, and this was an apolitical win." Even after Iran struck a U.S. base in Qatar, he added, "the President showed immense restraint and kept focus on the broader goal: preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and continuing its terror campaign." Despite the violence that followed the announcement — including an Iranian strike that killed four civilians in Israel — Spencer believes the ceasefire will hold. "Both countries have now said we're absolutely going to do it," he said. "And yes, President Trump is very atypical in the way he communicates with the ceasefire… with the 'don't drop a single bomb.'" To understand how ceasefires like this unfold, Spencer pointed to five historical precedents marked by delayed activation, phased goals, and a final window for military positioning. Signed on July 27, 1953, the armistice that ended the Korean War was structured with a deliberate 12-hour delay before taking effect. "This allowed final military movements before a synchronized halt," Spencer said — a model the Israel-Iran ceasefire closely echoes. Spencer noted that in 1973, Israel used the final hours before a U.N.-brokered ceasefire to reposition forces. "Israel made a bunch of moves in those last hours… to include encircling the Third Army, moving on Suez City," he said, referencing his case study on the Battle of Suez City. Ending the Bosnian War, the U.S.-brokered Dayton Peace Accords established a phased timeline for troop withdrawals and political agreements. "That was a U.N., multiple countries signing into an agreement of what both sides would and wouldn't do," Spencer explained, contrasting it with the looser terms of the current Israel-Iran ceasefire. Spencer also drew parallels to the 2014 war in Gaza. "Hamas would say, 'Okay, we want a ceasefire… just until the next time they break the ceasefire,'" he said. Many of those agreements had 12- to 72-hour activation delays, similar to what is now seen with Iran. Even more recently, during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, ceasefires were often brief and symbolic. "Putin said, 'I want three days so I can do my parade,'" Spencer remarked, highlighting how temporary pauses can serve both strategic and political needs. While past ceasefires were designed to slow escalation, Spencer sees this one as part of a broader strategic doctrine. "To help Israel in a way only United States could, that should be nonpartisan," he said. "For the United States to do a very limited operation, without a single loss of American life… that's unique." Spencer described the ceasefire as "an off-ramp" for both sides. "Ceasefire here means that both sides will stop shooting at each other. It doesn't mean that Iran will stop chanting 'Death to America and death to Israel,'" he said. "But the operations and hostilities have stopped." Despite the lack of formal terms or international enforcement, Spencer believes the agreement created a new precedent. "This established a new doctrine," he said, citing Israel's ability to dominate Iranian skies and the U.S. response to nuclear proliferation threats. "If Iran decides to rebuild some sites somewhere, the threats will be more present than ever." Spencer concluded, "It is a win. When red lines are really red lines, they are effective at deterrence."
NDTV
30-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
US Military Expert On Why Op Sindoor Is A "Decisive Victory" In Modern Warfare
New Delhi: Operation Sindoor has become a testament to India's growing military prowess, targeting nine key terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), avenging the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and redefining India's anti-terror strategy on the global stage, said John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute and Executive Director of the Urban Warfare Institute. In a detailed article posted on X, titled "Operation Sindoor: A Decisive Victory in Modern Warfare", Spencer stated that India had achieved a "massive victory" following Operation Sindoor, which he claimed is still not "completely over" despite the undertaking of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan. Spencer noted that the operation "exceeded its strategic aims" as it neutralised terrorist infrastructure and showcased India's military dominance, reinforcing deterrence as well as introducing a "new national security doctrine". He called the action decisive and not just "symbolic", and that it was applied with clear intent. He stated that the cessation was "not merely a pause" but a "strategic hold" following this military victory. Spencer noted that, unlike the previous attacks executed by India following such terror attacks, India "didn't wait", nor appealed to the international forum for mediation or issued a diplomatic demarche but launched "warplanes". The swift and precise calibration on May 7 sent a clear message that "terror attacks launched from Pakistani soil will now be treated as acts of war." Spencer further recognised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new doctrine as "India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail. India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail." He further acknowledged PM Modi's unveiling of a strategic doctrine as he said, "Terror and talks can't go together. Water and blood can't flow together." In his article Spence says that the nine precision strikes on major terror training camps, particularly Pakistan's Bahawalpur and Muridke, on May 7; the damages done to the 11 Pakistani military airbases; and the "temporary halt" in firing weren't just a tactical success but were a "doctrinal execution" under live fire. These actions had redefined India's stance against terrorism by drawing and enforcing a new red line: terror attacks from Pakistani soil will now be met with military force. Additionally, it, combined with a display of overwhelming military superiority, has restored deterrence and asserted India's strategic independence. "Critics who argue India should have escalated further miss the point, as strategic success lies not in the scale of destruction but in achieving the desired political effect", Spencer writes. "India was not fighting for vengeance. It was fighting for deterrence. And it worked," he wrote. "India's restraint is not weakness--it is maturity. It imposed costs, redefined thresholds, and retained escalation dominance. India didn't just respond to an attack. It changed the strategic equation," Spencer noted. — John Spencer (@SpencerGuard) May 14, 2025 He argues that in an era defined by "forever wars" and cycles of violence without strategic direction, Operation Sindoor stands apart. It offers a model of limited war with clearly defined ends, matched ways and means, and a state that never relinquished the initiative. "India absorbed a blow, defined its objective, and achieved it--all within a contained timeframe. The use of force in Operation Sindoor was overwhelming yet controlled--precise, decisive, and without hesitation. That kind of clarity is rare in modern war," Spencer acknowledged. He states that India of 2008 absorbed attacks and waited; this India hits back--immediately, precisely, and with clarity. According to Spencer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's doctrine, combined with India's advancing domestic defence industry and the professionalism of its armed forces, signals a country no longer preparing for the last war but for the next one. The halt in operations is not the end of Operation Sindoor but a pause. India holds the initiative. If provoked again, it will strike again. Spencer believes that Operation Sindoor was a modern war--fought under the shadow of nuclear escalation, with global attention, and within a limited objective framework. By every measure that matters, it was a strategic success and a decisive Indian victory.
India.com
16-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
PoK Next After Operation Sindoor? Defence Minister Rajnath Singhs BIG Hint
'Operation Sindoor is not over yet' - This is the line of the Government of India and its armed forces. They are calling the truce a strategic halt, while Pakistan is celebrating the ceasefire as their own victory. Now, the Pakistani minister has claimed that the ceasefire is valid up to May 18. After just four days of calibrated military action, it is objectively conclusive: India achieved a massive victory. Operation Sindoor met and exceeded its strategic aims—destroying terrorist infrastructure, demonstrating military superiority, restoring deterrence, and unveiling a new national security doctrine. As India has not declared Operation Sindoor completely over yet, and people as well as political parties in India are urging the government to go for Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, is there any surprise to come? "What exists now is a sensitive halt in operations—some may call it a ceasefire, but military leaders have deliberately avoided that word. From a warfighting perspective, this is not merely a pause; it is a strategic hold following a rare and unambiguous military victory," said John Spencer, Executive Director of the Urban Warfare Institute. Now, take a look at Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's statement. "I would like to make one more thing clear. 'Operation Sindoor' is not over yet. Whatever happened was just a trailer. When the right time comes, we will show the full picture," said Singh while addressing the Air Warriors at the Air Force Station in Bhuj. It's a well-known fact that the Pakistani Army and Navy are no match for India. The only competition was between the air forces of both nations. But after Operation Sindoor, India has shown that it has an upper hand against the Pakistan Air Force, and the Indian Armed Forces can hit wherever they want. India showed that it can cripple Pakistani Air Force while carrying out precision hitting at will. Defence Minister Singh further said that it is not a small matter that our Air Force has access to every corner of Pakistan. "Today, India's fighter planes are capable of striking every corner of Pakistan without crossing the border. The whole world has seen how you destroyed nine terrorist hideouts on Pakistani soil; in the subsequent action, many of their airbases were destroyed," said Singh. The Defence Minister further added both - India's war policy and technology have changed. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India won't tolerate any nuclear blackmail. The Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir has long been an agenda of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Its leaders, like Yogi Adityanath, have repeatedly raised the issue. Now, more subtle hints are pouring from the Central government. Is it time to expect some big actions? The world remains glued to the unfolding events.
