By M S Nazki
It’s not just a story but a reality!
Operation Sindoor was a significant operation in the Military History of India and was just a glimpse as what can the enemy expect in the future wars if any?
-Now what was special:
-Deception as a tool: “A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, you appear to be incompetent. Though effective, they appear to be ineffective.”
-The art of war: “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
-The soldier’s perspective: “The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
-The importance of understanding the enemy: “The foremost task of a general is to understand the nature of the war he or she faces.”
-The nature of military operations: “War is not won by victory.”
-Operation Sindoor, the Tri-Services joint operation, was launched in the early morning hours of May 07, 2025, in response to the dastardly, heinous and religiously provocative terrorist attack on innocent Indian civilians at Pahalgam on April 22, 2025.
-Op Sindoor was a stupendous success and achieved its laid-down military objectives in less than four days.
-While the success of Op Sindoor should be celebrated for its decisiveness, highly professional and integrated execution, the Indian Armed Forces also need to do a comprehensive, honest, and unbiased analysis of the entire operation to draw the correct lessons and prepare for future more challenging battles.
-During Op Sindoor, a disturbing facet was noticed; there was significant military collaboration between Pakistan and its all-weather friend China. Turkey also provided military support to Pakistan not only in the run-up to Op Sindoor but even during the conflict.
-India needs to be cognisant of the increasingly collaborative approach of China and Pakistan and the possibility of a full-fledged two-front war. A few enduring takeaways from Op Sindoor are highlighted in the succeeding paragraphs!
-Operation Sindoor, launched by India, was a swift and decisive retaliatory strike against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, following the Pahalgam massacre.
– It is seen as a validation of India’s indigenous defense capabilities, demonstrating a shift towards a strategy focused on prevention, pre-emption, and calibrated retaliation against state-sponsored terrorism.
-The operation also highlighted the increasing role of technology, particularly drones, in modern warfare.
-Key aspects of Operation Sindoor:
-Retaliation for Pahalgam Massacre: The operation was a direct response to the Pahalgam massacre, where 26 tourists were killed in a terrorist attack.
-Targeting Terrorist Infrastructure: Indian forces targeted terrorist camps and infrastructure used for planning and directing attacks against India, with a focus on those linked to LeT, JeM, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
-Precision and Restraint: The operation was characterized by precision strikes, minimizing civilian casualties and avoiding escalation.
-Indigenous Technology: Operation Sindoor highlighted India’s growing capabilities in indigenous defense technology, including air defense systems, drones, and counter-UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) capabilities.
-Shift in Doctrine: The operation signaled a shift towards a more proactive and assertive approach in addressing cross-border terrorism, emphasizing a calibrated response to aggression.
-Narrative Battle: Despite the military success, India faced a challenge in controlling the narrative surrounding the operation, with some international media portraying Pakistan as the victim.
-Gendered Framing: The operation also attracted attention for its gendered framing, with some analyzing how the attack was portrayed in relation to the victims of the Pahalgam massacre, according to the Australian Institute of International Affairs.
-Overall: Operation Sindoor is seen as a significant event in India’s defense history, demonstrating its military precision, inter-service cooperation, and national resolve in addressing cross-border terrorism. It also established a new paradigm for India’s response to national security challenges.
-This was in some way or the other: Testing Doctrine in Action!
Operation Sindoor exemplifies India’s effective conduct of warfare to recalibrate deterrence through cost-imposition in the physical and cognitive domains of the adversary.
-To rephrase Clausewitzian wisdom, the domain of military operations is characterised by uncertainty. How a military operates and pursues its objectives remains the prime indicator of its success or failure on the battlefield and beyond. Operation Sindoor was initially launched as a measured and calibrated non-escalatory military response against terrorist outfits in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and deep within the territory of their sponsor, Pakistan.
-Pakistan’s subsequent retaliatory aerial attack, through a combination of missiles and drones targeting civilian and military infrastructure, constituted an act of reckless escalation.
-In response, India made the conscious choice of deliberate escalation by targeting high-value military assets, including air radars and air force bases in Pakistan.
-The calibrated and proportionate escalation led to the successful fulfilment of objectives and the establishment of new redlines by India.
-From an operations perspective, a closer scrutiny of how the Indian military emulated the principles of warfare holds important lessons for New Delhi in managing future conflicts.
To gauge the effectiveness of military strategy and subsequent operations, military thinkers have identified nine key principles and their alignment with the means, ways and ends to measure their success or failure.
The nine fundamental principles of warfare act as a checklist for the armed forces to translate the conceptual aspects of military power into operational tactics:
– Objective─outlining the goals of military action; manoeuvre─to gain positional advantage through the use of force and other non-kinetic means!
– Surprise─Targeting the adversary in an unexpected manner!
-Mass─concentrating military power for superiority; economy of force─ensuring all efforts are calibrated
– Offensive─to seize and exploit the initiative; security─to safeguard one’s own forces!
Simplicity─in communications and information; and unity of command─by placing the operations under the right balance of political-military authority.
The IAF conducted precise and measured strikes targeting Pakistan’s military infrastructure, which dealt a blow to the command and control of the Pakistan military.
The objective of India’s precision-based strikes was clear: hit the terror targets based in PoJK and inside the Pakistani territory. It was intended to signal that no matter where, terrorist infrastructure will not go unpunished. Later, following Islamabad’s escalation through drone and missile attacks on India’s military and civilian bases, New Delhi’s recalibration of objectives was demonstrable. The IAF conducted precise and measured strikes targeting Pakistan’s military infrastructure, which dealt a blow to the command and control of the Pakistan military.
The tempo of operations, which unfolded deliberately and gradually, supported the manoeuvre against the Pakistani response. The indirect approach targeting physical and psychological vulnerabilities sent a strong message to both terrorist outfits and the Pakistan military and was supported by coercive diplomacy in the form of the abeyance of the Indus Water Treaty.
As a surprise element, Operation Abhyaas saw mock drills for civilian emergency preparedness being conducted across various parts of the country. The mock drills were meant to signal India’s readiness and resolve and were synchronised with Operation Sindoor.
The Airport Authority of India (AAI) issued Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) along the border states on India’s western front. The Indian Air Force (IAF) used the NOTAM to conduct readiness exercises and employed it as a cover to conduct precision strikes on the intervening night of May 7-8, 2025.
In addition, the use of stand-off weapons without entering Pakistani airspace introduced an element of deception, leading to the successful targeting of multiple terror training camps.
The mass, economy, offence and security elements were intertwined in the mission objective. India’s deployment of precision-guided munitions along with its layered air defence system imposed significant costs while simultaneously denying advantages to the adversary.
In the process, the Indian military achieved the suppression of the enemy’s air defence (SEAD), facilitating the IAF’s precision strikes on multiple assets belonging to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).
Meanwhile, the security of India’s civilian and military infrastructure remained intact, with almost negligible damage caused. However, ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army resulted in several civilian casualties.
he simplicity of operations was maintained through a channelised and coordinated structure of communications about ongoing developments, catering to both domestic and international audiences. This helped to mitigate the fog of disinformation and fake news peddled by Pakistan through multimedia platforms.
The briefings by India’s Foreign Secretary and representatives from three services of the military, i.e., the army, the navy and the air force, laid out clear details of movement and momentum of operational plans and their execution. Finally, the unity of command was evident from the planning phase, with the strategic direction led by the prime minister in consultation with the Cabinet Committee on Security and subsequently with the defence minister, national security advisor, chief of defence staff, and the three service chiefs setting the military response in motion.
The free hand granted to the forces to determine the operational level of warfare and the subsequent response to Pakistani aggression demonstrated an integrated approach among the three services. The army maintained ground defence and operational readiness on the western front.
The air force conducted precise strikes using advanced technology, and the army and air force air defence units neutralised incoming missile and drone attacks from Pakistan. The Indian Navy acted as a deterrent in the Arabian Sea, tracking and limiting Pakistan’s so-called multi-domain mobilisation of military capabilities.
The readiness and mobilisation of the naval fleet and submarines mitigated the risk of any adversarial response from Pakistan in the maritime domain. Overall, the joint planning, resource sharing, coordinated tempo of operations across respective domains, along with the provision of support elements to other services, underscored a well-synchronised and integrated military effort.
The Indian Navy acted as a deterrent in the Arabian Sea, tracking and limiting Pakistan’s so-called multi-domain mobilisation of military capabilities.
When these principles of warfare are inverted, India’s losses at the operational and strategic levels have remained limited, largely due to the expansive, tri-services-based, multi-domain military operations.
In sum, the Indian military has established a new normal and instituted a transformation in the conduct of military operations against the menace of cross-border terrorism and its sponsor, Pakistan. Strategic pragmatism in the face of the unpredictability of warfare has helped India maintain its defences and target the adversary in both the physical and cognitive domains of strategy. The information domain remains a vital theatre of engagement, and India must continue to shape the narrative to ensure a lasting psychological impact on the adversary.
