What Op Sindoor marked in warfare: More power to air force, zero boots on ground

What does the word “war” bring to your mind? Even if your knowledge is largely fed by films, the image is likely to be that of soldiers in battle fatigues, armed with sophisticated rifles, engaged in a face-to-face gunfight or hand-to-hand combat with similarly uniformed men on the enemy side, bloodied bodies of soldiers on the ground, and the injured writhing in pain.

Cut to 2025 reality. Since Operation Sindoor was launched about 1.30 am on May 7, and until the ceasefire (which Pakistan has violated several times) came into effect at 5 pm on May 10, India destroyed nine terrorist-training camps and eliminated over 100 terrorists in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, blew up an air defence radar in Lahore, hit 11 Pakistani air bases, reportedly destroying 20 per cent of the infrastructure of their air force, struck key military installations near Islamabad, and reached hundreds of kilometres into the neighbour’s territory — all without taking a single step across the border.

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In all of this, the number of fatalities within the Indian armed forces has been limited to five, whereas some 12 civilians have been killed, largely in shelling and cross-border firing from the Pakistan side. On the other hand, about 35-40 Pakistan army and air force personnel died in those four days. The task was majorly done by precision-guided munition (PGMs) or smart weapons, fired from somewhere on this side of the border. And the missiles, armed with advanced guidance and control systems, such as GPS and infrared sensors, did the rest.

Among many other things, what Operation Sindoor has stood out for is the dramatic shift in the workings of warfare. Things were so starkly different even 25 years back, during the Kargil war or Operation Vijay in 1999

A dramatic shift in the workings of warfare

Among many other things, what Operation Sindoor has stood out for is the dramatic shift in the workings of warfare. Things were so starkly different even 25 years back, during the Kargil war or Operation Vijay in 1999.

Technically, neither the Kargil conflict was a “war”, nor is Operation Sindoor. But if Operation Vijay is remembered for the bravery of Indian soldiers in recapturing physically challenging and strategic points such Tiger Hill, Tololing, and point 4875, and martyrs such as Vikram Batra, Yogendra Singh Yadav, and Manoj Kumar Pandey, Operation Sindoor will be remembered as the battle India won simply with the might of its technology, with men in front of computer screens doing more work than those behind LMGs.

The damage done to Pakistan must have been extensive — because the impact was palpable. Within merely four days, Pakistan made the call to broker peace. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear in his address to the nation on Monday (May 12), it was not India but a desperate Pakistan that roped in global help to stop the offensive.

Also read: Who is Hafiz Abdul Rauf, the man who led funeral of terrorists killed in Op Sindoor?

A new generation of ammo every time

While every war India has fought with Pakistan since Independence has brought the focus on a new generation of ammunition — from Pakistan’s US-supplied Patton tanks in 1965 to India’s controversial Bofors guns in Kargil — the two ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza have also brought to the fore high-tech modes of attack and defence such as armed drones (alternately known as unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs/quadcopters) and Israel’s Iron Dome air surveillance system.

And these have not been exclusive to the Russia-Ukraine or Israel-Hamas wars either. Like Hamas did to Israel on October 7, 2023, bombarding the West Asian power with 3,000 to 5,000 cheap rockets within a span of 20 minutes, thus overwhelming its famed Iron Dome, Pakistan tried something similar with India in the aftermath of the first offensive under Operation Sindoor.

Instead of rockets, Pakistan used Turkish Asisguard Songar drones to target 36 locations in India over May 7 and 8 — much like those being used by Russia and Ukraine to target each other. However, Pakistan’s UAVs were all shot down by India’s Integrated Counter-UAS Grid and missile defence systems.

The indigenously-developed Akash Teer and the Russian-made S-400 (Sudarshan Chakra) air defence systems intercepted all these drones and the 15 missiles launched by Pakistan. India, on the other hand, used its Israel-made Harpy drones to neutralise the Lahore air defence system.

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The intensifying force of Air Force

The owner of the superior air defence systems is the Indian Air Force, which has played the most prominent role in the latest offensive — in a significant departure from the past, when the Army took the lead and the Air Force and Navy played a largely supportive role.

Starting from the 1947 India-Pakistan war over Kashmir (first Kashmir war) to the 1999 Kargil confrontation, the role of the Air Force would be to provide strategic insulation to the Army soldiers on the ground — clearing their path, bombarding enemy installations, destroying bridges and enemy infrastructure, airdropping soldiers, and evacuating casualties.

However, the world first saw a major switch in the roles of Army and Air Force during the Gulf War in 1990-91. Instead of putting their “boots on the ground”, the US established its air superiority by bombarding key Iraqi installations, with the Navy playing a back-up role. After weeks of air raids, it took only a 100-hour ground war, as part of Operation Desert Storm, to result in the defeat of Iraqi forces and their withdrawal from Kuwait.

The world first saw a major switch in the roles of Army and Air Force during the Gulf War in 1990-91. What happened between India and Pakistan in May 2025 was a superlative upgrade on that.

No boots on the ground

What happened between India and Pakistan in May 2025 was a superlative upgrade on that. While Israeli troops have invaded Gaza and Russian and Ukrainian troops have been fighting ground wars as well, Indian boots never hit the ground in Pakistan, not even for 100 hours. At least not so far.

Think, in contrast, the first Kashmir war, or the second one in 1965, or the 1971 India-Pakistan war, or Kargil. When regular Pakistani army men sneaked into Kashmir alongside rowdy tribal militia in 1947, looting and plundering the Valley on the way to Srinagar, it took an airdropping of Indian Army men in the Kashmir capital to save it from further devastation.

Also read: Op Sindoor: PM Modi's address spells out 3 key points on Pak and terrorism

The war that started lasted for more than a year, with some 1,100–1,500 Indian Army personnel getting killed, besides some 2,000 J&K forces personnel. The total military casualties for India were estimated to be around 7,000.

When Army took the lead

The picture was repeated in the 1965 second Kashmir War, during which both Pakistani soldiers and later Indian soldiers crossed over into each other’s territory. With USD 700 million in military aid from the US, and modernised military equipment, Pakistan had a qualitative edge in air power and armour over India, which was reeling from the defeat in the 1962 Sino-Indian War and undergoing a major overhaul in personnel and equipment.

In the battle that lasted one and half months, some 3,700 Indian soldiers were killed. Though India won the war, the two neighbours were back on the battlefield six years later — this time over East Pakistan or what is today Bangladesh. The actual “war” in effect lasted 13 days. But it left an estimated 3,000 Indian soldiers dead and 9,851 wounded.

And then, in 1999, when Pakistan breached the Line of Control yet again, Indian soldiers had to put their boots on the ground again, with 527 being killed and 1,363 wounded.

Also read: Targeting of civilians marks alarming shift in terror tactics: DGMO

Hitting the mark

In each of these wars, the Air Force played a supportive role, an invaluable one nevertheless, and so did the Navy. This time, too, the Navy was ready in the Arabian Sea, “with full readiness to strike select targets at sea, and on land, including Karachi, at a time of our choosing”.

However, India’s Harpy drones and Rafale jets equipped with SCALP missiles and HAMMER bombs proved to be enough, selectively striking Pakistan’s military installations near Islamabad and downing their fighter jets with superior technology. More importantly, the Army, Navy, and Air Force joined hands to carry out coordinated strikes.

The result of using PGMs has been evident. With an on-board computer, a pre-fed ground map and precise coordinates, and a very low Circular Error Probability (CEP), India’s precision missiles hit their mark in every sense of the term — eliminated the risks with little collateral damage to civilians and, at the same time, protecting precious lives of our own soldiers who no longer need to venture into enemy territory.

Such technological advance places India, as well as some other countries, in a very powerful position. As India spelt out to Pakistan in no uncertain terms — we can hit any location deep inside your territory, bring down what you shoot at us with your current technology, and suffer very little damage in the process.

One can only hope that it will act as a deterrent.