"Sky Is NOT The Limit": Focus on Su-57, S-500, R-37M As IAF Celebrates Success of S-400 & BrahMos
Delivering a speech at the “Katre Memorial Lecture,” an event organized by the Air Force Association in Bengaluru, the Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief, AP Singh, highlighted the deterrent capabilities of the S-400 Air Defence system and the precision of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, which played a pivotal role in “Op Sindoor.”
Historically, the strategies, tactics, and assets of the IAF have been formulated to conduct offensive actions against the western neighbor, following three major wars and numerous smaller conflicts with India.
Despite the established positions, Indian operations targeting both militant and military sites across Pakistan have proven highly effective, as Pakistan’s defense mechanisms were unable to counter them.
Op Sindoor involved the use of weapon systems and munitions from various nations, including the USA, Russia, China, France, and Turkey, among others.
Analysts have been evaluating and comparing the capabilities of various key weapons. This analysis has also attracted interest from manufacturers and their respective countries.
Both nations asserted that they had downed each other's aircraft during the initial engagement. However, since no aircraft entered or approached the border, if any debris existed, it likely fell within their own boundaries, potentially hiding the evidence. Nonetheless, three months following the operation, additional details have emerged.
The Air Chief mentioned that nearly five Pakistani fighter jets were reportedly shot down by an Indian S-400. Notably, the S-400 accomplished its longest-distance target kill by taking out a high-value aerial asset (HVAA) at approximately 300 kilometers. Moreover, at least three F-16s and one C-130 were reportedly destroyed during airfield operations, as per the Air Chief.
Key Weapons Involved
Evidence of the effectiveness of the French Scalp and BrahMos anti-surface cruise missiles, along with local SkyStriker loitering munitions (LM), was available from Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) satellite imagery. The Israeli Harop, a large loitering munition, was also notably impactful.
The Chinese HQ-9 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, considered a substandard version of the Russian S-300, failed to intercept any of the Indian attacks. Furthermore, Pakistan did not assert any aircraft had been downed using these SAMs, as all claims were linked to the highly publicized Chinese PL-15 air-to-air missile (AAM).
Pakistan claimed to have downed several Indian aircraft and attributed these successes solely to the Chinese PL-15.
There were concerns regarding the specific variant of the PL-15 supplied to Pakistan. The upgraded version offered to China is said to have a range of 180 kilometers, while Pakistan was expected to possess the export version, the PL-15E, which has a range of 145 kilometers.
Experts worldwide have reached a consensus on the strong performance of two particular weapons: the S-400 SAM system and the BrahMos anti-surface missiles (ASM).