Gen. Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), on May 19, Monday visited Longewala in the forward areas of the Konark Corps in the desert sector to congratulate the troops for their exemplary role during Operation SINDOOR.
He reviewed the joint actions undertaken in coordination with the Indian Air Force and the Border Security Force.
 |
| COAS : Gen Dwivedi |
He commended their exceptional courage, operational readiness and relentless commitment in safeguarding the nation during the recent misadventure by the enemy in Rajasthan & Gujarat.
COAS also reiterated that any future designs by the adversary will be met with decisive force by Indian Army.
 |
| Lt Gen Sumer Ivan D’Cunha |
"Our electronic warfare assets played havoc in neutralising Pak's assets".
DG Army Air Defence Lt Gen Sumer Ivan D’Cunha told a media interview:
"India has an adequate arsenal of weapons to take on Pakistan right across its depth. So, from its broadest to its narrowest, wherever it is, the whole of Pakistan is within range... The GHQ (General Headquarters) can move from Rawalpindi to KPK (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) or wherever they want to move, but they're all within range..."
Speaking to ANI, Lt Gen Ivan D'Cunha said that Pakistan's attempt to use drones against India was anticipated by the Indian defence forces, which conducted simulation exercises to prepare for potential drone attacks.
Pakistan first sent cheap drones in large numbers to low altitudes to saturate the radar system. Still, the Army had anticipated the drone threat and conducted a simulation exercise on April 26-28 to prepare for potential drone attacks.
Speaking about the internal training by the Indian side, Lt Gen D'Cunha said,
"I think that the training that we did, actually we anticipated this and you won't believe that about maybe on the 26th, 27th and 28th, we did a simulation exercise at the behest of our army chief in the border areas, where we simulated drone attacks on the weapon system.
It was not from the border, but it was internal, on the border... We started at 5:30 in the morning, maybe on the 26th for the first day, when multiple drones were coming in to train our people..."
The operation highlighted India's integrated command structures, enabling seamless coordination between different military branches.
The Indian Army adopted a tactical approach by not continuously emitting radar signals, instead switching them intermittently to engage targets within gun range.
India utilised advanced surveillance systems, including satellite surveillance and real-time intelligence, to gather critical information on enemy positions and movements.
India's electronic warfare assets played a crucial role in neutralising Pakistan's command-and-control structure, which would have likely been used to deploy drones.
The Indian Air Force's Netra AEW&C aircraft jammed Pakistani radars, disrupting their ability to track and respond to Indian aircraft, including drones.
During Operation Sindoor, India's offensive strikes targeted key Pakistani airbases- Noor Khan and Rahimyar Khan with surgical precision.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in a statement has said,
-- "Loitering munitions were used to devastating effect, each finding and destroying high-value targets, including enemy radar and missile systems. Loitering munitions also known as "suicide drones" or "kamikaze drones", are weapons systems that can hover or circle a target area, searching for a suitable target before attacking."
All strikes were executed without loss of Indian assets, underscoring the effectiveness of our surveillance, planning, and delivery systems. Modern indigenous technology, from long-range drones to guided munitions, made these strikes highly effective and politically calibrated.
Lt Gen also highlighted the significant role of drones in modern warfare, citing recent global conflicts and gave examples of how the Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia-Ukraine, and Israel conflicts have demonstrated the vast potential of drone warfare.
Countries like Ukraine and Russia are ramping up drone production, with Ukraine aiming to manufacture millions of drones annually.
Lt Gen D'Cunha said, "So, you know, it's like that the Nagorno-Karabakh-Azerbaijan clash, the Russian-Ukraine clash, and even to some extent, the Israeli current conflict going on, taught us about the huge capability that drones have.
"And we realised that Pakistan, by its backend support from Turkey and any, maybe our northern adversary as well, had a plethora of drones. And we also knew that to take on an effective air defence integrated system that we have, like the army and the air force are integrated in this case, they would have to saturate us.
If you see their concept of employment, they would first send in low-altitude, cheaper drones in large numbers to saturate your radars and force you to open them up.
So, I think it's very important that the army looked at not emitting so that we didn't give out our positions..."
Notably, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region included the heavy use of missiles, drones, and rocket artillery.
As per the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the 44-day war featured a diverse array of legacy and advanced air and missile strike and defence platforms. Drones of Russian, Turkish, Israeli, and indigenous designs performed both reconnaissance missions to support artillery use and strike missions.
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and loitering munition attacks were able to destroy heavy ground units, including T-72 tanks and advanced S-300 air defences.
Azerbaijani drones were the centre of attention in this war. Although Armenia deployed some of their own indigenously produced drones, and later footage showed its side using the more sophisticated Russian-made Orlan-10 UAV, Azerbaijan took control of the skies.
.png)
Drones also became a central weapon in the Russia-Ukraine war. According to the European Council on Foreign Relations, Ukraine aimed to produce one million drones within the year, as early as 2024.
In March 2024, that goal was revised to two million, and in October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the country could manufacture up to four million drones annually.
Russia was also reported to be matching this pace of production. It is estimated that about 100 different types of drones are in use in Ukraine, ranging from toy-sized systems to larger models with wingspans of almost 20 metres.
Red Teaming:
(Red Teaming within the Indian Army refers to the use of a dedicated group simulating an adversary to assess the effectiveness of military plans, systems, and defenses. This practice helps identify weaknesses and improve combat readiness.)
DG Army Air Defence Lt Gen Sumer Ivan D’Cunha said:
"There is a very interesting concept called Red Teaming.
The US uses it. Israel used it to some extent. We have started using Red Teaming...
"It's a fascinating concept that challenges whatever action you're going to do, to be able to understand what the outcomes of that action can be, so that you know what to be prepared for in the next phase if you take this action, and this is what happens in the Army today.
"We've started it recently under the present Chief of Army Staff, and even during the last Chief, this concept of Red Teaming came out, and we are now following this Red Teaming effectively. In this particular campaign, we did use the concept of Red Teaming."
On how Pakistan used civilian planes as a shield, D G Army Air Defence Lt Gen Sumer Ivan D’Cunha says,
"...Our nation doesn't harm civilians in any form. They knew we wouldn't try to shoot down their aircraft.
The first thing that you do in conflict is to make sure that your airspace is closed for national and international flights, but they never let that happen. They let these flights fly and I think that's a very major lesson that we've got to take away..."
On the preparedness of Indian defence forces to thwart drone attacks, DG Army Air Defence Lt Gen D’Cunha said:
"...The Russia-Ukraine clash and even to some extent the Israeli current conflict, taught us about the huge capability that drones have.
We realised that Pakistan, by its backend support from Turkey and maybe a northern adversary as well, had a plethora of drones. We also knew that in order to take on an effective air defence integrated system that we have, they (Pakistan) would have to saturate us.
So, if you see his concept of employment, they (Pakistan) would first send in low-altitude, cheaper drones in large numbers to saturate your radars, and they would also force you to open up your radars...
We anticipated this, and about maybe on the 26th, 27th and 28th, we did a simulation exercise at the behest of our army chief in the border areas, where we simulated drone attacks on the weapon system...".
ends
No comments:
Post a Comment