India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, bombing nine terrorist camps in Pakistan. According to reports, India used SCALP-EG and AASM-250 Hammer guided missiles fired from Rafale and Sukhoi-30MKI jets, besides India-made SkyStriker suicide drones. Pakistan retaliated with swarm drones, including the indigenous Shahpur, and Turkish-made drones, Songar and Yiha III. But these were fully neutralised by India’s indigenously developed integrated air defence systems, undergoing constant development and upgrades since the 1990s to make them one of the best in the world.

An integrated air defence system includes Russian-made S-400s (can fire up to 380 km), Indo-Israeli Barak-8s surface-to-air missiles or SAMs (which can fire up to 70 km), India-made Akash SAMs (25 km), and Israeli Spyder SAMs (15 km), besides Bofors L70 and calibrated anti-aircraft guns. Another hero was Akashteer, an AI-powered advanced drone detection, deterrence, and destruction system network developed in the past two years by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Electronics and Isro.

Following Operation Sindoor, Pakistan dramatically escalated, launching ‘Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos’, involving missile and drone strikes on over 25 Indian military sites. India’s air defence systems neutralised all of them. Within an hour, India hit back with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — Harops (Israel) and Warmates (Poland), along with the BrahMos [made in India in a joint venture with Russia] and SCALP-EG missiles — destroying 11 Pakistani military bases, and heavily damaging runways, planes, hangars, and infrastructure. It forced Pakistan to seek de-escalation, ultimately leading to a ceasefire.

Tom Cooper, a world-renowned Austrian military analyst and specialist in the history of combat aviation, says India’s air campaign against Pakistan was a “clear-cut victory”. “When one side is bombing nuclear weapon storage facilities of the other, and the latter has no ability to retaliate left, it’s a clear-cut victory in my books. In this case: a clear-cut victory for India,” Cooper wrote in a detailed analysis of the conflict in a blog.

John Spencer, a military veteran and the head of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute in New York, another global war expert, also hailed India’s Operation Sindoor as a decisive victory. “India’s domestically produced weapons worked, while China’s did not,” he said, mentioning the indigenously developed Akash and anti-drone capabilities.

India vs Pak: How they stack up

Global Firepower (GFP), an independent agency tracking defence-related information of 145 countries since 2005 based on 60-odd military parameters, ranks India at the 4th position behind the U.S., Russia, and China in its annual GFP Index 2025 ranking. Pakistan has been ranked 16.

According to GFP, India has 14.55 lakh (nearly 1.5 million) active soldiers, next to the world’s largest China’s 20.35 lakh (2.03 million), whereas Pakistan has only 654,000 soldiers. In the case of reserve personnel, India has more than double of Pakistan and China’s reserves. Its paramilitary forces’ numbers are almost five times that of both Pakistan and China. India also has the fourth-largest defence budget in the world, whereas Pakistan is ranked 38. (India’s defence budget increased 11 times, from ₹2.53 lakh crore in 2013-14 to ₹6.81 lakh crore in 2025-26).

In air power, India outnumbers Pakistan by miles, with a total of 2,229 aircraft, against the neighbour’s 1,399. India also has a clear edge in air attacks and defence, as revealed in the recent conflict — 513 fighters, including Mirages and Rafales, compared with Pakistan’s 328 (mostly Chinese-made J-10s and JF-17s, besides some U.S.-made F-16s). As against Pakistan’s 90 dedicated attack fighters, India has 130.

India’s combat fighters include Mirage 2000s, Rafales, Jaguars, MiGs, Sukhois and Tejas. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is making the next-generation Tejas Mk 1As and 156 Light Combat Helicopters (LCH), Prachand, in a deal worth over ₹62,000 crore. Naval versions of Rafale are joining soon.

When it comes to transport aircraft, India has 270, including the C-295, C-130J, and C-17 Globemasters — four times the number of transport aircraft used by Pakistan. However, Pakistan has more trainee aircraft, 565, when compared to India’s 351. In helicopters again, India outnumbers Pakistan by more than double — 899 vs 373. India also has the edge in attack helicopters, 80, compared with Pakistan’s 57.

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