Vienna: In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, India's calibrated retaliatory strikes deep into Pakistani territory have reset parameters of conflict engagement between New Delhi and Islamabad. By deploying standoff weapons from within its airspace and leveraging unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a.k.a. drones, India has introduced a layer of strategic ambiguity - one that expands its toolkit vis-a-vis Pakistan in the space between conventional and nuclear.
Drones have played a key part in India's offensive operations and in shaping Pakistan's military response. As adversaries invest in long-range precision strikes and loitering munitions, ability to defend critical infra, cities and military assets will be as important as capacity to conduct precision strikes.
While this is the first time drones have been used on such a scale between India and Pakistan, IAF has been an early adopter, with operational experiences dating back to the 1999 Kargil conflict. Over the last two decades, the Indian military has integrated drones for surveillance, targeting support and striking high-value targets, with platforms like the Israeli-origin Searcher, Heron and Harop forming the backbone of India's UAV fleet.
The need to integrate these systems into air operations is reflected in the 2000-22 'Doctrine of the Indian Air Force' and similar documents from the army and navy. The doctrine emphasises the evolving role of drones in modern and future air warfare as instruments of persistent surveillance, deterrence and precision engagements.
Impact of drones also depends on the defences against them. Drones are vulnerable to many countermeasures, especially electronic warfare, guns and air defences. India's counter-drone systems include multilayered sensors and weapon systems, including indigenously developed soft- and hard-kill counter-UAV systems.
The IAF doctrine also highlights the need for developing and deploying counter-unmanned aerial systems (CUAS) capabilities to destroy hostile UAVs. Integrated air command and control system (IACCS), which played a crucial role in thwarting Pakistani drone and missile attacks, is IAF's command-and-control network, which integrates air defence assets.
Once the dust from Op Sindoor settles, the Indian military will have the opportunity to analyse Pakistan's deployment of Chinese-origin UAVs, drawing essential lessons about them, and roles such platforms could play in any future Indo-Sino conflict. China has expanded its investment in UAVs, integrating them into both kinetic and information-based operations. India will need to close this gap and continue developing and investing in a range of layered air defence systems, including counter-drone defences.
If the scale of reported air and ground engagements between India and Pakistan is accurate, India must urgently boost procurement and domestic production of munitions and advanced guided weapons, especially surface-to-air missiles for its air defence systems (S-400, MR-SAM, Akash, etc) and drones (loitering munitions like Harop, SkyStriker and similar systems).
All of these require long manufacturing lead times, and defence procurement cycles are ill-equipped to respond swiftly to sudden surges in demand amid a deteriorating security environment. Although drones have proven not to be survivable in environments with effective air defences, India can achieve some resiliency in its drone fleet by developing the capacity to rapidly reconstitute platforms lost in a conflict.
India's current fleet of drones is of Israeli origin, and will soon be bolstered by US Guardian drones. But security of supply chains, production and cost will be key if India plans to integrate their use across the services at scale.
Government policy must focus on long-term orders, incentivising industry to invest in additional production capacities and R&D. This will require regulatory reforms, allocation of adequate funding and reduction of procurement uncertainty.
Drones are vulnerable to air defences designed to counter them, defences neither India nor Pakistan has in adequate numbers. Yet, capabilities of drones must not be exaggerated. Mass production of an affordable mix of drones and air defence systems is key to offsetting capability gaps and supporting protracted conflicts.
Drones won't determine who prevails in a conflict. But they will certainly play a prominent role - paired with other crewed aircraft, artillery or missile systems - in any high-end conflict with Pakistan, or China.
The writer is former director, aerospace & defence, US-India Business Council
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com)
Drones have played a key part in India's offensive operations and in shaping Pakistan's military response. As adversaries invest in long-range precision strikes and loitering munitions, ability to defend critical infra, cities and military assets will be as important as capacity to conduct precision strikes.
While this is the first time drones have been used on such a scale between India and Pakistan, IAF has been an early adopter, with operational experiences dating back to the 1999 Kargil conflict. Over the last two decades, the Indian military has integrated drones for surveillance, targeting support and striking high-value targets, with platforms like the Israeli-origin Searcher, Heron and Harop forming the backbone of India's UAV fleet.
The need to integrate these systems into air operations is reflected in the 2000-22 'Doctrine of the Indian Air Force' and similar documents from the army and navy. The doctrine emphasises the evolving role of drones in modern and future air warfare as instruments of persistent surveillance, deterrence and precision engagements.
Impact of drones also depends on the defences against them. Drones are vulnerable to many countermeasures, especially electronic warfare, guns and air defences. India's counter-drone systems include multilayered sensors and weapon systems, including indigenously developed soft- and hard-kill counter-UAV systems.
The IAF doctrine also highlights the need for developing and deploying counter-unmanned aerial systems (CUAS) capabilities to destroy hostile UAVs. Integrated air command and control system (IACCS), which played a crucial role in thwarting Pakistani drone and missile attacks, is IAF's command-and-control network, which integrates air defence assets.
Once the dust from Op Sindoor settles, the Indian military will have the opportunity to analyse Pakistan's deployment of Chinese-origin UAVs, drawing essential lessons about them, and roles such platforms could play in any future Indo-Sino conflict. China has expanded its investment in UAVs, integrating them into both kinetic and information-based operations. India will need to close this gap and continue developing and investing in a range of layered air defence systems, including counter-drone defences.
If the scale of reported air and ground engagements between India and Pakistan is accurate, India must urgently boost procurement and domestic production of munitions and advanced guided weapons, especially surface-to-air missiles for its air defence systems (S-400, MR-SAM, Akash, etc) and drones (loitering munitions like Harop, SkyStriker and similar systems).
All of these require long manufacturing lead times, and defence procurement cycles are ill-equipped to respond swiftly to sudden surges in demand amid a deteriorating security environment. Although drones have proven not to be survivable in environments with effective air defences, India can achieve some resiliency in its drone fleet by developing the capacity to rapidly reconstitute platforms lost in a conflict.
India's current fleet of drones is of Israeli origin, and will soon be bolstered by US Guardian drones. But security of supply chains, production and cost will be key if India plans to integrate their use across the services at scale.
Government policy must focus on long-term orders, incentivising industry to invest in additional production capacities and R&D. This will require regulatory reforms, allocation of adequate funding and reduction of procurement uncertainty.
Drones are vulnerable to air defences designed to counter them, defences neither India nor Pakistan has in adequate numbers. Yet, capabilities of drones must not be exaggerated. Mass production of an affordable mix of drones and air defence systems is key to offsetting capability gaps and supporting protracted conflicts.
Drones won't determine who prevails in a conflict. But they will certainly play a prominent role - paired with other crewed aircraft, artillery or missile systems - in any high-end conflict with Pakistan, or China.
The writer is former director, aerospace & defence, US-India Business Council
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com)
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