On the night between May 6 and 7, the air fields of South Asia witnessed a battle that was no less than a Hollywood movie. Pakistan and India, two nuclear-equipped rival nations, tested their air capabilities to dominate the region, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear.
On May 9, Pakistan military’s spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said that on the night between May 7 and 8, a dangerous escalation took place when four projectiles were fired from Adampur, in India, which were believed to be long-range missiles. Three of them were targeted by Indian forces inside their own territory in Amritsar. One of them crossed into Pakistan’s airspace and was taken down and neutralised mid-air, whose debris fell in the area of Dinga, in Punjab. The electronic signature of that projectile was also captured.
New art of war
In a briefing, Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Operations) Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed said that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has the capabilities to pick up high-speed and Low Radar Cross Section Area (RCS) projectiles/objects on radar. This Beyond Visual Range (BVR) fight of probably more than 100 aircraft (at least 70 from the Indian side and 42 from Pakistan side) was the first ever such fight in the history of aviation and will be taught in textbooks as a case study in aerial combat history.
The IAF started their initial build-up in the North and the Center at 0010 hours, with PAF initiating its response in just two minutes. By 0012, PAF’s response was activated. IAF started to get its fighters air borne in large numbers by the time it came to 0030. By now, PAF was pretty sure that this was going to be a long night.
PAF commenced its multi-domain operations, a new concept of war. By 0023 hours, PAF’s Defensive Counter Air Operation (DCA) response was airborne. Seven minutes later, at 0030 hours, a complete IAF package had been established in 04 sectors (axis) across the international border.
Breakdown of the aircrafts and strategy:
Initially, 60 IAF aircrafts including 14 Rafales, were electronically identified through Electro Magnetic Operations (EMO). The number of IAF aircraft soon rose to 72 with augmentation through scrambles.
Rafale is a twin-engine, multi-role fighter jet with a maximum speed of approximately 2222 km/h. It is 15.30 meters in length and has a 10.9-meter wingspan. It has a surface ceiling of 5,240 m or 50,000 feet designed for reduced radar cross-section (RCS) and infrared signature. Each Rafale costs India $288 million.
At 0037 hours, a complete DCA response was mounted by the PAF to thwart the Indian aggression. A total of 42 hi-tech aircraft were concentrated in selected areas of responsibility.
PAF fighters ensured Pakistan’s air sovereignty
PAF rerouted commercial traffic to ensure their safety as 50-plus commercial flights from several international airlines, including from Gulf countries and Thailand, were operating in Pakistani airspace at that time.
IAF offensive resorted to CIS-Frontier strategy by staying within its own borders and launched missiles on multiple Pakistani locations. In response to the aggression, PAF changed its rules of engagement to ‘assured kill, deny own loss’. The change was reportedly made through executive orders from Chief of Air Staff Zaheer Babar.
As the engagement unfolded over the next hour, PAF reoriented its strategy from ‘deter’ to ‘destroy’ with special emphasis on Rafales.
The operation downed a total of six aircraft, including three Rafales, an SU-30, a MiG-21 and a UAV.
PAF said later that they could have downed more IAF planes, but exercised restraint. In 2019’s operation Swift Retort PAF also locked more than 10 enemy aircraft; however decided to shoot only two of them: an SU-30 and MiG-21.
In war, if you don’t shoot, you get shot. The PAF chose to take the fight to the enemy to make sure the threat was neutralised effectively. As India refused to acknowledge the downed planes, PAF even revealed the locations where targets were engaged.
The locations of the targets were as follows:
20 NM (Nautical Miles) from 08 NM from LOC Srinagar (MiG-29)
19 NM from Srinagar 25 NM from LOC (Su-30 MKI)
41.5 NM from Srinagar 53 NM from LOC (Rafale)
16 NM from Jammu 19 NM from LOC UAV (Heron)
13 NM from Jammu 07 NM from LOC (Rafale)
19 NM from Bhatinda 23 NM from International Border (Rafale)
Out of the downed planes was a Su-30, which was shot down by PAF HIMAD (High to medium altitude air defence surface-to-air Missile). In the modern battlefield, you cannot conjure up things. Everything that moves has an electronic ID, and that ID allows the aircraft to be picked up and shot down.
According to a security official who had first-hand information about the PAF’s strategy, “As soon as you put on your radar, you show yourself and nobody can hide and nobody can deny that. PAF has an exact range bearing because when you employ your weapon, you know exactly when the missile is getting active, and the blip disappears as you are getting down. So, none of the claims have any fat in them, and they are pretty accurate.”
Pakistan had Chinese-made JF-17, J-10C and American F-16s in the air along with electronic warfare and Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEWC) aircraft. The electronic warfare aircraft were conducting monitoring and jamming operations against the adversaries.
Both JF-17 and J-10C were equipped with PL-15 missiles, Mach 5 hunters with a range of over 300 km. The PL-15s fired from J-10C missiles were responsible for five kills in the air. Meanwhile, one SU-30 of IAF was shot down by PAF’s High-to-Medium Air Defence System (HIMAD).
At this point in the engagement, Pakistan was operating in C4ISR supremacy—Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. Rafale’s Anti-Electronic Warfare (EW) Spectra system cannot counter a missile it never detects. No EW suite can spoof a missile fed by satellite data.
The PAF did not use this strategy for the first time. In 2019, Pakistan jammed India MiG-21’s communications during clashes with India. Between April 29 and 30, just few days before the latest conflict, four Indian Rafale jets patrolling near the LoC were detected and forced to retreat. Pakistan jammed their communications and they eventually had to divert to Srinagar to land safely.
What targets did Pakistan attack in response?
According to PAF, they targeted airfields, logistics and military stores and storage depots, radar sites and S-400 air defence units. The targets were spread out across India, as deep as New Delhi and as stretched as Kandla port in the country’s south. PAF claimed destruction of one S-400 in Adampur and damage to command and control center of S-400 in Bojh.
Majority of the military targets were in open areas, hit by killer drones largely made either in joint collaboration between Pakistan and Turkiye at National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP) or indigenously developed by Pakistan Air Force. The high-value-targets were targeted by Hypersonic CM-400 missiles.
Why did India park their aircraft 300 km away?
The Pakistani electronic spectrum warfare capabilities took India by surprise, which was totally dependent on their fighters and ground-based radars only. After taking the hit, India parked all their aircraft 300km away from the border because it had no idea from where it could get hit. The main reason for this vulnerability was that the Indian military arsenal is a mixed bag of Russian, British and French technologies augmented by Israeli weapons, resulting in weak overall integration. They do not have electronic warfare capabilities as yet. By failing to invest in multi-domain operations, IAF seemingly overestimated its capabilities and underestimated the PAF.
What type of radars does Pakistan have?
Pakistan has a variety of radars that have capabilities of potent soft kill.
It includes the Swedish-made Saab 2000 Horizon-7 (AWACS).
Trident, Turkish-made used for Jamming.
Migaes, Turkish-made which is used for mainly confusing the link of an aircraft.
Trident EA, used for destroying the links of an aircraft/projectile.
Pakistan also has locally made Vera- E, Hisar-II, ground-based jammer and EADS, which were used for electromagnetic spectrum management and monitoring.
Drones in Pakistan-India conflict:
After the downing of lAF Rafales, India launched several drone attacks on Pakistan, which violated the Pakistani airspace and spread panic amongst the people. Pakistan’s anti-drone system, which is largely Turkish-made, rendered enemy UAS/drone attacks ineffective. Drones with low Radar Cross Section (RCS) were detected and rendered useless through utilization of indigenous GPS jamming, Data and SATCOM link denial systems.
Categories of drones:
- Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) and High-Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones, which are also referred to as Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV). These are top-of-the-line altitude drones that take off from runways and are used for wide area surveillance. These are also armed with limited number of missiles and bombs for strikes if required. In this category Pakistan has Turkish, Chinese and Pakistani drones. They usually can fly at an altitude of 25-30,000 feet for long durations between 8-24 hours, or more. While India is known to use Israeli made Herons and Searchers. Pakistan claims to have shot down one Heron drone during the conflict.
- Mini UAVs – These are surveillance birds that are generally hand or catapult launched. Their wingspan ranges from 1.5 meters to around 4 meters in general. Armed with day and night cameras, these birds are easy to launch and use at the front line to monitor enemy movements and operations. Their cameras relay live videos back to the ground station.
- Loitering Munition – or Kamikaze, are drones that are sent on a suicidal mission to target enemy personnel, vehicles or military installations. Small in size, these drones are not easy to detect on radars and can strike deep into enemy territory. Furthermore, they either have to be jammed or shot down with guns such as anti-aircraft guns, since using a missile on them is not financially feasible. Indian Kamikaze drones included the Israeli-made Harop and Harpy drones, and some indigenous options such as the Sheshnag 150. While Pakistani drones include some Turkish and a wider range of indigenous options including both multi-rotors and fixed-wing categories.
Pakistan’s response to drones:
A total of 84 small Indian drones, including Kamikaze, were brought down through a combination of soft and hard kills. In soft kill, an error was induced in the UAV’s GPS system and their various links were disrupted making them ineffective. On the other hand, when these small drones came near a civilian area or high-value target, then a direct hit, or a hard kill, was achieved.
Overall Pakistan’s drone usage in current conflict was more intelligent and impactful. India employed hundreds of drones in swarm configuration, much like bees, to test Pakistan’s air defence. In response, Pakistan used armed small drones of various configurations to inflict damage and push back. Pakistan also successfully intercepted and shot down 84 Indian Kamikaze drones marking a significant defensive achievement.
Type of drones used by Pakistan in this conflict:
- Akinci: (Turkish made)
The Akinci has a service ceiling of 40,000 ft and a max speed of 361 km/h. With a length of 12.2 m and wingspan of 20 m, it can carry multiple smart bombs, missiles, and ECM payloads and includes several special features, including Dual turboprops, ECM, electronic support systems and large payload. It has an endurance time of 24+ hours.
2. Wing Loong (Chinese-made)
The Wing Loong has a service ceiling of 23,000 ft and a max speed of 235 km/h. With a length of approximately 8.5 m and wingspan of 18 m, it is equipped with Laser-guided bombs, missiles and rockets. It has an endurance time of 30 hours.
3. TB 2: Turkish made
The TB2 has a service ceiling of 25,000 ft and a max speed of 222km/h. With a length of 6.5 m and wingspan of 12 m, it is equipped with 4 laser-guided smart munitions as well as several special features including triple redundant avionics, autonomous take-off/landing, and sensor fusion navigation. It has an endurance time of 20+ hours.
In addition, Pakistan also possesses Shahpar II, Dark Angel II and Blue Eagle I, all of which were made indigenously. Pakistan also possesses a killer drone, made in collaboration with Turkiye.
Indian drones
Indian MALE drones have a typical altitude of 5,000 to 15,000 meters and have an endurance time of 18 to 30 hours. Depending on the model, they can have a range of 200 km to 7,400 km depending on the model and can carry payloads of 68 kg to 1,000 kg. India’s MALE drone arsenal includes DRDO Rustom-2, Israeli Heron, Searcher, Harpy (anti-radiation). They have speeds of upto 300 km/h.
Indian HALE drones have a typical altitude of above 15,000 meters and have an endurance time of more than 24 hours, even up to 48 hours for some models. Depending on the model, they can have trans-global reconnaissance ranges and can carry payloads of several hundred kgs. India HALE drones include Rustom-2 (expected HALE performance) and conceptual HALE UAVs like ALTIUS.
How PAF jammed BrahMos missile
“After the UAV chapter was over and India was fearing PAF’s retribution, in utter desperation, the IAF resorted to a highly escalatory, very irresponsible, surface-to-surface long-range vector application,” AVM Aurangzeb Ahmed told reporters on May 11.
According to PAF, a high-speed BrahMos was detected on the radar on May 10. BrahMos was developed jointly by India and Russia, deriving its name from the Brahmaputra and Moscow rivers in India and Russia. The missile, worth $3.5-4.5 million, has an approximate speed of 2500 to 3500 kilometres per hour. It is around eight meters in length and can carry a 200 to 300 kg payload. It is a two-stage missile, the first being a solid propellant booster engine which brings the missile to supersonic speed and then gets separated.
The BrahMos detected on May 10 was coming from Suratgarh, aiming for PAF Airbase Rafiqui on Pakistan’s eastern border. The missile was defended by PAF’s soft kill.
“The PAF induced errors into the missile’s GPS, which increased their CEP, the probability of missing their target increased, and hard kill was also achieved,” Ahmed said.
According to AVM Ahmed, the electronic signature showed that one of the missiles overshot the target and fell in ‘no man’s land’. The missiles were being picked as soon as they were launched. Another one launched from Jaisalmer towards PAF Airbase Shahbaz, located in Jacobabad, also missed its target and went towards Pakistan’s western border closer to Afghanistan.
The response to BrahMos reveals that the PAF is not only capable of monitoring and tracking real time launch, mid-flight and terminal phase of all super-sonic missiles, but when going for the kill, PAF has the capability to jam the missile through GPS jamming via satellite and electronic counter measures.
In almost three days of these tensions, a lot of geopolitical narratives changed, where Turkey and China, two superpowers in air combat and technologies, put their support behind Pakistan, while India was left to fend for itself. The global shift in diplomatic support also turned in Pakistan’s favour, and many countries called out India’s aggression and ‘sheer stupidity’ to escalate towards a nuclear war, leaving the country in isolation. Both countries had a lot to take away from this confrontation, but this has also opened the door for more direct escalations in the future.
