Dr. A. Z. Hilali
War in the 21st Century is not only based on sophisticated conventional weapons but depends on the utilization of modern technological devices because contemporary time is the era of “Information Age” which is well-documented.
The four-days war (May 7-10, 2025) between India and Pakistan, which some aerospace analysts refer to as the 100-hour war, is perceived to be most significant between the two nuclear-armed adversaries in several decades. According to Professor John Gearsen, Kings College, London, Pakistan’s military action against India’s military adventurism was an unfolding event which crossed the previous thresholds in the regional geopolitical landscape and its consequences appeared very devastating for India. As per the words of CNN and BBC, after India’s storming across Pakistan in the few days of the war, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) put the adversary on the defensive position and its five jets were shot down including French Rafale in retaliation of India’s missile attack. So, the calculated response of Pakistan was heralded as the saviour of the nation, playing the leading role for the final countdown.
In the wake of the brutal air attacks carried out by India’s Hindutva regime (Narendra Modi) against Pakistan territorial integrity, it became imperative for the country’s security vanguard to employ its air power to strike at the strategic points of adversary, setting the stage for a crucial ground operation and dismantle the enemy capabilities. Pakistan air power’s successful response stretched Indian air strikes, which is a growing concern of the world. PAF received global appreciation and proved that Pakistan’s defence system is unbreakable and there is no question over its effectiveness and strategic implications. Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, from Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies (USA), mentioned, it is imperative to underline that Pakistan Air Force (PAF) proved one of the best and most effective forces in the region. Carlo J. V. Caro and Thomas C. Schelling, has written in the New York Times (May 2025), there is no match between PAF and IAF because Pakistan Air Force proved certainly superior in terms of quality, training and professionalism and have coercion as using force to compel an adversary to yield, even when they have the means to resist. Thus, PAF is a subtle form of power, which operates under the principle to damage adversary power and gain objectives.
There is no doubt that India’s ‘Operation Sindoor,’ proved ineffective and less impressive in front of the iron shield of Pakistan because IAF faced severe losses in the war. Pakistan has given toughest time to India and its missile system by Chinese-made Chengdu J-10 jets and JF-Thunder 17 fighters. According to Jane’s Defence Weekly, Pakistan’s success deserves close attention that India’s Russian-made S-400 air and missile defense system was destroyed by Pakistan with Chinese missile systems such as Ground-based Missile Defence (GMD). China has provided Pakistan with the DF-17 missile system which is the most advanced hypersonic missile system in the world. Pakistan also used China’s GMD missile which has an extensive set of fire control systems and radars. In the same manner, MD system such as the MQ-19 gives the significant Damage Limitation (DL) capability by rendering Pakistan’s First Use (FU) of nuclear weapons vis-à-vis India. This fact has also been accepted by Indian media which claimed that the S-400 was targeted by an air-launched Chinese-origin cruise missile including there had been “several high-speed missile attacks… at several air bases including Adampur in Indian Punjab. So, China-Pakistan collaboration in the defence field has given strategic shock to India in aerial engagements. So, this would mark the first great loss in combat for the French air industry and the western military experts regarded India as a significant vulnerable and unprofessional and its loss of fighter jets have exposed its dominant weaknesses.
Nonetheless, Pakistan air power has shown its professional competence, high caliber of skills, command in the air and know-how of the modern technology and, in extreme cases, can result in the total annihilation of the adversary. In fact, Pakistan has learnt lessons from the previous wars with India that never fight without nuclear arsenal and never go to war without effective air power because if the country will lose the war in the air it can affect the land or sea and the country can lose it quickly. So, the present Indo-Pakistan crisis has proved that PAF is indispensable and king of the skies of South Asia and it has become the dominant force against the adversary. According to Diya Ashtakala, Research Associate in Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS-USA), written paper “What Led to the Recent Crisis Between India and Pakistan?” and explained, the small duration of war between India-Pakistan ended with the Indian humiliation by Pakistan air power by compressing the line between the strategic and tactical levels. In the same way, the Guardian, reported, the clash between India and Pakistan proved, air power was an effective strategic weapon, which changed the face of war, proved to be surviving and Pakistan has emerged as a stable and blue-eyed country in the world. So, it has proved that Pakistan forces are best in the world and working as a counterbalance of India in the South Asian region.
Nonetheless, the short war between India and Pakistan has given the message that Chinese weapons or missile systems are equally better and more effective as the US and European weapons. In this regard, China has bypassed the western military and missile technological sophistication. Thus, the recent Indo-Pakistan war has given a good reputation to the Chinese weapon system and also given a better message to India that never fight with Pakistan which has a qualitative edge over its military, doctrine and defence planning and Pakistan has achieved moral superiority. Thus, India should learn the lesson that peace is better than war because staying with peace will reduce poverty and bring economic prosperity and war is nothing else than deception.
The writer is defence and security analyst of South Asia ([email protected])
