Operation Sindoor                                               A first set of reactions

Prof. Prodyut Das 19/05/2025

Frankly the Operations left me in a state of shock. It was the kind of Operations that we heard other people carried out and we studied. The shocking novelty was the following:

1.      The calm, almost detached escalation of the conflict- as if some Alien were doing it.

2.      The meticulous planning and the development of ability to plug in the use of last- minute information e.g. the AWACS take out- to maximize outcomes.

3.      The remarkably successful planning and implementation of a multi layered cost effective defence systems to stop the other side.  

4.      The emphasis on “mend and make do” innovations, like the Bofors L 70 (a 100-year-old weapon design), the INSAS based anti- drone systems and others.

5.      The stunning accuracy of the Missile bombardment systems- it was almost as if DHL or Amazon had delivered them.

6.       The small to very small payloads used. The biggest warhead was 250 kgs and the average war-load- used to do the Madrassas- was about 5 to 7 kgs. The combination of 5 and 6 above is a favourable game changer we must “panchayat”.

7.      The very short time windows within which the attacks went in and the devastating effects achieved.

8.      The almost comic, “Jat Baniya” sequence of events- decoys sent, radars activated, Radars located, UAVs sent in, Radars and target destroyed. When we were young Jat Baniya jokes were as popular as the Sirdarji jokes until the Wokes stopped it all with their pompous priggery. Mind you they were not  paying for my up bringing!.

9.      The absence of co-lateral damages to Pakistan Civilian property. That civilians were not targeted by India is bound to have its own long term effects on the Pak Army’s narrative that only they stand bulwark between the Public and the monsters from the East.   

10.  Finally, to those of us who saw the 1971 war from the boundary fence of Kalaikunda AFB, the amazing economy of effort.- what took days of effort in 1971 was done in half hours.

It was as if I was witness to a “new- to- the- point- of- being- alien” style of warfare. Even the Israelis don’t do it so well. Bekaa Valley comes nearest to it but there the terrain tipped the throw decisively against the Arabs. Read my analysis in my blog Prof. Prodyut Das 2 “Lessons from the Bekaa Valley.https://prodyut7.blogspot.com/2020/01/lessons-from-bekaa-valley.html

Losses -a discussions

This is on everyone’s radar but it is too early and I think immaterial because Sindoor probably has changed the way we think about warfare.; The facts are not yet out; you could never trust the PAF’s figures and even great losses can be justified by the long-term results. How this icy cold thrashing helps Pakistan’s behave is the true measure of the loss or gain. Here is my personal assessment.

Pakistan / Western claims

They were always like this. If you have Fricker’s book “Battle for Pakistan” or have a copy of Air International Vol. 1 No.1, 1972 you will see a picture of Squadron Leader MM “Peanut” (his PAF nickname) Alam in moustaches and the obligatory Ray-Ban, proudly standing by his Sabre with his 11 “victories” marked by Indian Flags, a smaller size being used to depict two Gnats. He actually got 4 and no Gnats. That is PAF/PA information all over. Interesting detail work but short on substance. I won’t detail further because Vayu’s dear Pushpindar Singh “Laying to rest the Ghost of Sargodha”) tells it in meticulous detail. Dig it out and read it. Worth it.  

This time around the Pakistan Armed Forces showed a battered drop tank, a PAF Mirage III from an earlier crash, an engine, lonely on a field and a piece of tin purporting to be the fin of a Rafale marked BS 001. Bull Shit 001? Perhaps someone in the PAF still has a sense of humour. The fin lying by itself on the field has no sign of impact damage of the magnitude that would have ripped it off from its “keel” in the fuselage to lie isolated in the stubble. It did not look the size of a Rafale. The effort is ridiculous but quietly enjoyable with the morning cup of tea -“there they go blundering about- again!”.  As I said such pictures is for internal consumption by their villagers to assure them that their Fizayya was taking good care of them and worth every paise the poor people spend on their overlarge but incompetent Armed Forces.

About our losses they have made impressive claims but don’t they do that every time? In 1965 it was 119 of ours for just 19 of theirs, taking pains to further point out only 12 were combat losses. the other 7 were due to accidents. I forget their final claims- initial claims were outrageous as expected- for 1971 because their style was somewhat cramped by losing the War conclusively.

This time I might just be persuaded that we may have lost just the one Rafale due to unspecified reasons, not necessarily PAF action. For this admittance of loss, I am keeping in mind not Pakistani sources but the behavior of the Indian police near one of the crash sites in (?) Bhatinda. Normally the local people loot the crash even as the wreckage is still ablaze- it seems our scrap merchant baniyas are a tough and enthusiastic lot- but in this case I saw a Police cordon so large it was difficult to identify the type. Just on that (me being wary by nature!)- of the Police being extra careful- I might be ready to accept further proof that we just may have lost the one Rafale.  There have been theories about PL 15 with its 150 kms range have been responsible for downing but I wonder if you will get any more than 10-15 kms at lower altitudes because of the density. Don’t tell me everyone was up there at 10 K metres for the fresh air. We need to have more information. We have also picked up a PL 15. The missile appears to have been jettisoned and not fired. So, we had WVR conditions, perhaps.

The West’s wails

Sindoor has given a “Locksley Hall” vision of what air warfare can be like. In a way it raises the spectre of making all current products on the market – the F 35, the J 20, the forthcoming Tempest obsolete or in need of severe revision. Let us ask ourselves if we could have done better with less losses and lower costs if we had, say, ten, squadrons of F 35s or J 10s. I think not!  The performance of the Indian equipment will cause everyone to think and the entire combat aircraft specification bubble may burst. A 2^nd gen/5^th gen combination may be the simplest lowest cost option and then who is going to buy the pure 5^th gen, Cadillacs? What will happen to all those investments. We can expect a blitz of learned Western think tanks running down Sindoor because a lot of Investments and a lot of bottom lines are under threat.

The Opposition’s actions

Our real opposition is not from Pakistan but there will be flank attacks on the Political Leadership a key element in the team that  organized this powerful demonstration. I have in mind the attacks by Shri R. Gandhi on the EAM, Mr. Jaishankar. Mr. Jaishankar’s “warning” is inline with what the Israelis gave to the Syrians on their 40kms. Advance up to River Jazzine to take out the SA 6 batteries in Lebanon. The target, the intention and the location was given by the Israelis to the Syrians-and accepted. It was only after the Israeli IDF “cheated” both the Syrians and their own Cabinet that the Bekaa Valley happened. Read the details in my Blog ! 

 So what is Rahul Gandhi talking about? He is trying to see if an element in the team can be removed. My view is it is a planned “flank attack” on a key ingredient in the success of the Sindoor and I don’t think it originated at the Congress HQ. Earlier the same people of the Forces would have been told that we are a soft state and must get back to our Hindu rate of growth. Hence the attacks on the EAM.

Patting ourselves on the back

Whilst we can enjoy a new sense of pride at the events the credit goes to the combination of brilliant planning and organization, vision and professionalism by the Forces and the resolute Political Leadership that left no room for ambiguity. As if to contrast the difference in political Leadership someone-apparently not a supporter of the Dynasty Congress- has circulated a speech (well, it was more of a mumble, really) by the then PM, Man Mohan Singh on the occasion of the Bombay 26/11 raids. He promised compensations to the injured and was full of mumbled condolences and sympathies to those killed. There was no talk about retribution at all; in fact, he was just short of offering advance condolences in case one was clumsy enough to get caught in the next round of terrorism. Our Chaiwallah is dishing headier stuff.

Leave the professionals largely alone

The Operation Sindoor exposed the rot that has seeped into their Armed Forces post the assassination of Liaqat Ali Khan and the Martial Rule of Ayub. PAF and Pakistan Army was once a respected foe. Its decline over the years is a warning to our politicians not to meddle with the Armed Forces and meritocracy. We have wrecked our Education by politicization and whilst we shall have to pay that price there is no plan to have Panzergruppe JNU to man the borders. The Armed Forces will do that but please keep your opinions about their strange customs and totems as much as possible to yourselves. It is a strange job done by strange people whose idea of “office” is to go out and face armed Jehadis before breakfast. Let us be accommodative and helpful when we meet them as individuals instead of trying to get them to see our humanitarian point of view about their methods. 

On the technical side some of the work done e.g. on the Rajendra Radar and the sensor fusion of the IACCS is brilliant and summa cum laude, the use of antique Pechoras and discarded R 73s were worthy of MiDs but can we really celebrate?

The Aakash was highly reliable and effective but let us throw some cold water of reality. It took us from 1983 to 2007 before the Forces started to get the Aakash in hand and it was not even an original design. The missile is a local development of the famed SA-6 and most of the improvements appear to be in guidance and software and integration, the SA 6 being just as devastating in the Yom Kippur war of 1973. We can be thankful that the Akash was there at hand and in numbers but can we applaud the effort as brilliant as the IACCS? Can we be complacent of processes about that took us 24 years? And this is considered as one of the successful projects. After the Partying is over, please call a meeting as to why we took 24 years to complete a process that should have taken six or seven.

There is of course also the scandal that 43 years into the LCA Project we did not have a single Tejas for Sindoor. The time has come to enquire and issue a show cause/ charge sheet as to why this Project consistently continues to fail.  I don’t know where the shoe pinches but the shoe has to be cobbled again for fast

Political notes: The Coming storm

1, It is entirely my assumption that ten years into a sovereign Sircar, the political pretences of earlier Rajs has come to the surface. India is now confronting the Deep State that has run a self financing control regime in this region from since Independence. lt is no longer India Pakistan of earlier pretences where the Leadership of the countries quite possibly- going by circumzenithal evidence only collaborated with the Deep state..

 The Partition of the   blamed on the Hindu Muslim divide was really the work of the Financial Institutions of London, Brussels, New York and Paris (aka The Deep State) who negotiated the terms of  Indian Independence to maintain their stranglehold on the Indian Economy.

2. The Deep State used the Pakistan Armed Forces as the ladle with which to stir the Peninsular pot. The Pakistan Army has always and unerringly thwarted any move by elected representatives of India and Pakistan to have closer ties. Kargil followed Vajpayee’s Lahore trip in 1999 and Nawaz Shariff was removed after he reciprocated rapprochement efforts by Modi. There is a long history. When the Governance of India slipped out of the dynasty’s hand in 1964 a dormant Ayub surfaced to launch Operation Gibraltar in 1965 to embarrass Lal Bahadur Shastri who proved he was no Nehru with his “heart going out to the people of Assam”. Most Indians believe Shastri was assassinated rather than died from a heart attack in Tashkent.

3. Operation Sindoor has broken the prestige of the Pakistan Armed Forces in situ. Bangladesh happened in Bangladesh but the fires burnt at Chaklala and the UAVs landed at Sargodha and were seen by an increasingly restive population . We have broken the stirrer and have embarrassed the Fighter specifications narrative, We can expect strong reactions and it won’t be from the Pakistan Armed Forces .