Facebook Pixel How India and Pakistan's drone battles mark a new arms race in South Asia | The Daily Guardian - newspaper - Lees dit verhaal op Magzter.com
Ga onbeperkt met Magzter GOLD

Ga onbeperkt met Magzter GOLD

Krijg onbeperkte toegang tot meer dan 9000 tijdschriften, kranten en Premium-verhalen voor slechts

$149.99
 
$74.99/Jaar

Poging GOUD - Vrij

How India and Pakistan's drone battles mark a new arms race in South Asia

The Daily Guardian

|

May 28, 2025

On the night of May 8, 2025, bright red flares tore across the skies above Jammu, India, as air-defense systems scrambled to intercept swarms of incoming drones from Pakistan.

How India and Pakistan's drone battles mark a new arms race in South Asia

Though tensions between India and Pakistan are not new, the four-day military engagement that followed was a milestone: it marked the first significant use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in direct combat between the two nuclear-armed nations.

This high-tech, low-cost skirmish signals a turning point. Rather than relying solely on fighter jets or missile systems, India and Pakistan have entered a new arms race—this time centered on drones.

The appeal is clear: UAVs allow states to strike military targets while minimizing risk to pilots and expensive aircraft, avoiding the sort of escalation that could lead to full-scale war.

A CHANGING BATTLEFIELD

Historically, military confrontations between India and Pakistan have relied on artillery shelling, aerial dogfights, and covert operations, especially in the disputed Kashmir region. But the May clashes showcased how UAVs are changing the rules of engagement.

According to Indian officials, Pakistan launched an unprecedented swarm of 300-400 drones along a 1,700-kilometer frontier, using a mix of Turkish and domestically-produced UAVs to probe Indian defenses across 36 locations.

Among these were the YIHA-III drones, co-developed with Turkish contractor Baykar and assembled in Pakistan, as well as Shahpar-II UAVs by state-owned Global Industrial & Defence Solutions.

Indian officials responded with countermeasures using Cold War-era anti-aircraft guns enhanced with modern radar from Bharat Electronics Ltd.

These outdated weapons, surprisingly, were able to shoot down many drones effectively.

Simultaneously, India retaliated with its own drone strikes using Israeli HAROP loitering munitions, Polish WARMATE UAVs, and indigenous drones.

HAROPs—known as suicide drones—loiter over a target area before crashing into targets with explosive payloads, offering high-precision attacks with minimal risk.

MEER VERHALEN VAN The Daily Guardian

The Daily Guardian

The Daily Guardian

AHILYABAI & THE HOLKARS: WHERE POWER MEETS PIETY

The Holkar dynasty was a prominent Hindu Maratha royal house that played a key role in the history of Central India.

time to read

2 mins

February 27, 2026

The Daily Guardian

'Bhooth Bangla' first song unveiled, takes fans back to 2010 era

The first song from Akshay Kumar's upcoming film Bhooth Bangla has been unveiled, and it has undoubtedly taken his fans back to the 2010s.

time to read

1 min

February 27, 2026

The Daily Guardian

Delhi Intensifies Food Safety Surveillance Ahead of Holi, 66 Samples Collected

As Delhi approaches the festival of Holi, a period traditionally associated with heightened consumption of sweets and processed food items, the question of food safety has once again led to administrative urgency.

time to read

1 min

February 27, 2026

The Daily Guardian

The Daily Guardian

Maid among two arrested for staging fake ED raid in New Friends Colony

Two persons, including a housemaid, have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to stage a fake Enforcement Directorate raid at her employer's residence.

time to read

1 mins

February 27, 2026

The Daily Guardian

The Daily Guardian

Delhi HC Rejects Appeal on Sisodia’s 2020 Patparganj Win

The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) filed against the dismissal of an election petition challenging the 2020 Assembly election victory of Manish Sisodia from the Patparganj constituency.

time to read

1 min

February 27, 2026

The Daily Guardian

India-Kenya talks focus on boosting maritime security, training, tech ties

‘The fourth meeting of the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) between India and Kenya was held in Nairobi from 24 to 26 February 2026.

time to read

1 mins

February 27, 2026

The Daily Guardian

The Daily Guardian

Now, no extra charges on canceling or modifying air tickets within 48 hours of booking

In a good news for airline passengers, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced new revised refund norms under which the passengers can cancel or modify their tickets without paying additional charges within 48 hours of booking, subject to certain conditions, after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revised refund norms.

time to read

2 mins

February 27, 2026

The Daily Guardian

The Daily Guardian

President Murmu attends bhoomi pujan in Jamshedpur

The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, on Thursday participated in the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony of Shri Jagannath Temple at Jamshedpur, organised by the Shri Jagannath Spiritual and Cultural Charitable Centre Trust.

time to read

1 mins

February 27, 2026

The Daily Guardian

Railways rolls out Rail Tech policy, fully digital claims tribunal

A major step toward technology-driven governance and innovation-led transformation, Union Minister for Railways, on Thursday announced two key reforms under Indian Railways’ flagship “52 Reforms in 52 Weeks” programme — the introduction of the Rail Tech Policy and the full digitisation of the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT).

time to read

1 min

February 27, 2026

The Daily Guardian

The Daily Guardian

NORTH KOREA WARNS IT COULD DESTROY SOUTH IF THREATENED

North Korean leader Kim Jong

time to read

2 mins

February 27, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size