New Delhi: The Indian Armed Forces released images of wreckages of Pakistani-fired missiles and drones that were shot down by Indian air defence systems over the last few days. Among these was a P-15 Chinese-origin radar-guided, long-range, air-to-air missile and a Turkish-built Yiha-III kamikaze drone. The Armed Forces are also ready for the next mission, officers said during the daily briefing on Op Sindoor on Monday.
Air Marshal A K Bharti, Director General Air Operations (DGAO), Indian Air Force (IAF), spoke of India’s robust air defence (AD) system and how it brought down the Pakistani missiles and drones. Not only did the latest systems do their work, even the older ones like the Pechoras performed extremely well, he said.
“Our war was against terror. Unfortunately, Pakistan turned it into their fight. Our AD systems are multi-layered. A very significant thing was the performance of our indigenous systems like the Akash. The IAF operates under a potent AD environment known as the Integrated Air Command & Control System (IACCS). I would also like to thank the government for providing necessary budgetary support over the last decade for technological upgradation. Over the last few days, we have produced sufficient evidence of how the IAF was able to target the entire length and breadth of the adversary,” Air Marshal Bharti said.
Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, Director General Military Operations (DGMO), India, spoke on how Virat Kohli is his favourite cricketer. This was on a day when Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket. It was clear that the general officer is an avid cricket fan by his comparison with India’s multi-layered AD system and the combined pace-attack of the Australian greats Dennis Lillee and Thomson.
“There used to be this saying during the Ashes series: ‘Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, if Thommo don’t get ya, Lillee must.” That is what our AD system is like. They comprise missiles, both launched and shoulder-fired and AD guns. If one doesn’t get you, the other will. There has been a change in the character of terrorism. Innocent civilians are now being targeted. There were attacks on pilgrims in 2024 and the killing of tourists in Pahalgam in April,” Lt Gen Ghai said.
According to him, all Indian air bases are fully operational. He also appreciated the role played by officer and other personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF). “They did a wonderful job. They helped us bring down the threats. It is important to mention here that there is absolute synergy between all three services,” the DGMO said.
Vice Admiral A M Pramod, Director General Naval Operations, Indian Navy, spoke on the fleet air-defence mechanism which is a sort of a bubble. It involves the Carrier Battle Group (CBG). Assets, such as Mig-29K fighter aircraft, helicopters and AD missiles keep attack drones and high-speed missiles several 100 km away.
“Our Navy operated with absolute impunity and established dominance over the area of operations. We sent out a clear message that we had strike extremely hard if we choose to,” the DGNO said.
