Robust air defence foiled Pak attacks

The Indian military's resilient, multi-tiered air defence (AD) network — a mix of legacy and modernity, and of indigenous and imported weapons — thwarted multiple waves of Pakistani attacks on scores of locations from May 7-10, and minimised damage to military infrastructure and civilian areas, top officials said on Monday at a special briefing on Operation Sindoor.

- Rahul Singh [e-mail]

NEW DELHI:

India's military bases and systems are fully operational, and ready to undertake any mission, the officials said.

"Putting together and operationalisation of this potent AD environment has been possible over the last decade due to unwavering budgetary and policy support provided by government in acquiring state-of-the-art equipment and weapon systems," said Air Marshal AK Bharti, director general air operations.

His counterparts from the army and navy were also present at the briefing.

The Indian Air Force shot down a few high-tech fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force during Operation Sindoor, New Delhi's direct military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror strike that killed 26 people. The operation began on Wednesday with India achieving its intended target; it hit nine terror training camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the precision strikes killing more than 100 terrorists in just 26 minutes.