One of the most senior officers of the Indian Army has disclosed how our armed forces adopted advanced warfare systems during Operation Sindoor. Our army is now ready for the next round. Lt. Gen. Sumer Ivan D’Cunha, director general of Army Air Defence, said, India can now strike targets across the depth of Pakistan and “the whole of Pakistan is within range”. 

Lt. Gen D’Cunha said, “I’d just like to say that 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. We are absolutely capable, from our border or even in depth, where we can take on the entire Pakistan. And the GHQ can move from Rawalpindi to KPK (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) or wherever they want to move, but they are all within so, so they will have to really find a deep hole (to hide).”

The Army Air Defence chief described how Indian army shot down each and every drone and missile when Pakistan attacked our cities and bases. Modern indigenous technology, including long-range drones and guided munitions, played a crucial role in Operation Sindoor’s success.

The Army Air Defence chief explained how our armed forces had precise information about how Pakistan would attack. He said, the army knew the number of drones Pakistan would send. The army also knew Pakistan Air Force would not send its aircraft for fear of being downed. 

“Our preparedness was at that level. We shot their ordinary drones with guns, their attack drones with shoulder launchers, and the missiles  with Akash and S-400 air defence systems…We knew their strategy. They would first send drones at low heights to trace the locations of our radars, but we realized their trick and prepared our counter-strategy effectively”, he said.

The senior army official said, it was a Herculean task to take out 800 to 1,000 drones sent by the enemy. Nowadays splinter explosives are used and L-70 gun cartridge is one example. We had anticipated Pakistan would send swarms of drones and our air defence systems had practised targeting drones ten days before the conflict, he said.

The next objective, he said, was to activate our third and fourth layers of air defence. From gunners to radar men, everybody was told what to fire and when. Everybody from senior army officers to the jawans posted on the frontier knew their respective roles through the Integrated Command Center, Lt. Gen D’Cunha said.

He said, we have our indigenously developed Akashteer Air Defence Control & Reporting System. “It didn’t roar or flash, it listened, calculated and struck kamikaze drones with precision”, the army official said.

The Lt. General said, we used electronic warfare systems along with our air defence weapon systems. ‘Our electro-optical system and cyber warfare capabilities integrated well to destroy all incoming Pakistani missiles’, he added.

Operation Sindoor gave our armed forces the golden opportunity to make preparations for future wars and indigenously developed weapons and systems were successfully tested. A  fusion of old and latest weapons contributed to the success of Operation Sindoor.

What Lt. Gen. D’Cunha said underlines the latest capabilities of our valiant army. Our army has become a formidable force in modern day warfare. Prime Minister Modi gave a free hand to our armed forces soon after the Pahalgam massacre. Our officers planned their strategies well and destroyed several air bases of the enemy.

Our military intelligence inputs were formidable and precise. The armed forces knew the exact locations and layout of terror headquarters and camps. Our military strategists knew how Pakistan would react. They also knew why the Pakistan Air Force feared sending its aircraft to strike our installations. They then put their act together.

Our first objective was to destroy Pakistan’s air defence systems and air bases. Our army top brass knew how the minds of Pakistani generals were working. That is the reason why Indian army’s attacks precisely hit their targets in a controlled manner, without causing collateral damage to the civilian population. 

Our air defence system was such that each drone and missile sent by Pakistan was destroyed. By bringing in a fusion between the old and new, our army has showed that its strategies are next to none. The entire nation today has full confidence in our armed forces. People know that our army is operationally in a state of readiness and can counter any attack from the enemy.

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