Article Posted on : - May 16, 2025

Image credit: PIB

(By Ritu Mousumi Tripathy)

As military experts and strategists across the world are doing an in-depth analysis of the “limited military conflict” involving India and Pakistan post ‘Operation Sindoor’ which was undertaken by the Indian Armed Forces on May 7 to decimate terrorist camps in Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to avenge the dastardly Pulawama terror attack on innocent Indian tourists, India has set many new precedents in contemporary warfare domain.

‘Operation Sindoor’ has strengthened India’s defence preparedness to counter increasingly volatile situations in modern era wherein military conflicts are becoming increasingly complex, multi-faceted and unpredictable in nature. This “limited military confrontation” has also given a major fillip to various reforms measures undertaken in the country’s defence domain over the last few years.

1) Synergy & Jointness in Modern Combat Operations: Modern conflict situations have changed dramatically in 21st century. The defence and security challenges for India too have intensified in current times of geopolitical and global volatility. In this backdrop, India’s plans to create ‘Integrated Theatre Commands’ to undertake “joint, integrated” warfare operations has gained urgency.

‘Operation Sindoor’ has refined and redefined the “well-calibrated, well-coordinated, synergistic” approach and methodology adopted by India’s Tri-Services to counter the adversary.

While the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force acted conjointly in the “kinetic domain” of the conflict which evolved quite swiftly, the Indian Navy played a critical role by maintaining a forward, "dissuasive & deterrent" posture in the northern Arabian sea with the deployment of its strategic assets, including the carrier battle group.

“Operation Sindoor emerged as a calibrated military response to an evolving pattern of asymmetric warfare,” the Defence Ministry recently stated.

The Defence Ministry announced 2025 as the “year of reforms”. India’s efforts to set up ‘Integrated Theatre Commands’ has been termed as a “trailblazing reform”. The  Theatre Commands “will facilitate better co-ordination and integrated application of force to enhance operational efficiency while optimising resource utilisation. The concept of Theaterisation seeks to mitigate the shortcomings of single service operations and support modern war fighting,” says a Defence Ministry report.

2) New-age Warfare in High-tech Domain: Rapid advancements in technology is driving modern warfare in an unprecedented way. Swarm drones, unmanned systems, reconnaissance and combat drones,  quadcopters etc. have entered into the domain of ‘new-age’ warfare. And so are loitering munitions, kamikaz drones, drone counter-measure systems and interceptors.

‘Operation Sindoor’ has witnessed the usage of all these modern high-tech war devices, giving credence to the fact that an intricate amalgamation of both conventional and asymmetric balance of forces and equipment has assumed increasing significance in contemporary battlespaces.

India has effectively and decisively put into use its loitering munitions, counter-drone systems, interceptors including air defence missiles, anti-aircraft guns and shoulder-fired weapons, many of which have been developed indigenously. The stellar performance of some of these weapons has given  a major strategic leeway to India’s advancements in modern military domain.
 
3) Military Strikes with Surgical Precision: Precision “is power in its own right” in modern battlespace. And the use of precision-guided munitions with “surgical effectiveness” has given an unprecedented edge to the Indian Armed Forces during ‘Operation Sindoor’.

The array of weapons used during the conflict, initially to neutralise terror infrastructure inside PoK and Pakistan on May 07, followed by “fierce” and “deep” strikes on eight key Pakistani military installations ranging from air defence systems to radar sites and command centres as a direct response to attempts by that country to hit Indian targets in the following days, has reinforced the dominance of such critical assets which can decisively influence and even determine the course and outcome of a modern war.

4) Countering Information Warfare & Cyber Warfare: India has also effectively countered all sorts of information warfare and cyber warfare efforts waged by Pakistan prior to, during and after ‘Operation Sindoor’. By robustly guarding its cyberspace while thwarting the attempts aimed at spreading misinformation and disinformation against India and the Indian Armed Forces, cyber security experts have played a pro-active role in neutralising all sorts of intrusions and attempted disruptions in the digital domain.

5) Strategic Assets in Space: ISRO Chief Dr V Narayanan recently remarked during an event that 10 satellites are continuously working 24/7 for a “strategic purpose” to ensure the safety and security of the citizens of the country.

India has been steadily leveraging from its growing space prowess to enhance the national security landscape. The number of satellites being used by India for military purposes, including for surveillance & reconnaissance, navigation and communication roles, is steadily increasing. These space-based assets have become highly critical instruments for the Armed Forces by providing specific, periodic and real-time data.