India and Pakistan have fought six wars between 1948 and 2025. But till the May 2025 war, the latest, these armed conflicts involved the use of ground troops, tanks and artillery with aircraft only playing a ground support role. Drones and missiles and other unmanned armaments were not used.

But come May 2025, the scene became qualitatively different. There was virtually no ground movement of troops and armour, and artillery was used only over the Line of Control in Kashmir. The confrontations were carried out by drones and missiles.

The air force was involved not so much in bombing sorties but in sending missiles and drones and neutralizing incoming missiles and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. There were strikes with aircraft with some attrition being reported. But the exact nature of the attrition was kept under wraps. But hundreds of drones and many missiles were fired and considerable attrition of drones was reported.

Thus, the India-Pakistan conflict of May 2025 saw both nations deploy advanced technological weapons, marking a significant escalation in their military engagement.

The conflict involved a range of modern weaponry, including missiles, drones, fighter jets, and electronic warfare systems.

Media reports suggested that India carried out the strikes in Punjab and Kashmir with the help of French-made SCALP missiles and Hammer precision munitions. Furthermore, an investigative defence journalist, Anantha Krishnan, emphasised that India used the BrahMos missiles in its counter-terrorism strikes on Wednesday. To prove his point, he shared a video in which the nose cap of the BrahMos missile that struck one of the locations in Pakistan could be seen.

Pakistan engaged a number of military targets in Northern and Western India including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles.

"Pakistan Armed Forces launched multiple attacks using drones and other munitions along the entire Western Border on the intervening night of 8 and 9 May 2025. But the drone attacks were effectively repulsed,” the Indian military added.

Last week, Pakistan claimed that it had knocked out the guardian of India's sky, the S-400 aerial shield, at Adampur base in Punjab. Pakistan said Adampur was destroyed — runway gone, S-400 hit, radar down, 60 killed, jets destroyed etc. But on Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked into Adampur and posed beside an S-400 battery.

India did not use the Agni ballistic missile which has a long range exceeding 5,000 km. Given its range it is basically a deterrent rather than a tactical weapon. India used Surface-to-Air Missiles to intercept drones and projectiles, as seen in Jammu on May 10. In its armoury are the Hammer Smart Weapon System which are guided bomb kits used for precision strikes.

On the ground, India used Excalibur Munitions which are fired from M777 howitzers. These GPS-guided artillery shells ensured high accuracy.

Well-endowed with modern weaponry, Pakistan's missile arsenal includes a variety of surface-to-surface, air-to-surface, and air-to-air missiles, including ballistic missiles, anti-ship missiles, and those used by fighter jets. Key missiles in the Pakistani arsenal include the Fatah-1, Fatah-2, and SMASH. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) also employs missiles like the PL-15E and PL-10, which are carried by JF-17 fighter jets.

Pakistan used the Abdali Weapon System which is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a 450 km range, capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads. It was test-fired on May 3, 2025, amid rising tensions.

The Shaheen-2 Ballistic Missile is Pakistan’s longest-range system, with a range of approximately 2,000 km. It was not used given its long range. Pakistan also has the Babur Cruise Missile, a nuclear-capable missile. But it was not used as there was no need for it.

Pakistan has a deterrent but unused weapon, the Tactical Nuclear Weapons (TNWs): Pakistan has developed short-range TNWs with yields up to 300 kilotonnes, intended for battlefield use. But these were not used for obvious reasons.

Pakistan launched Short-Range Surface-to-Surface Missiles which targeted Indian air bases such as Udhampur and Pathankot and a missile storage facility on May 10.

Both India and Pakistan extensively used drones, launching hundreds of them. The premier Indian drone was the Israeli Harop. India is said to have deployed 84 of these loitering munitions, which are also known as kamikaze drones. But Pakistan claimed to have intercepted and destroyed them.

Pakistan extensively used Turkish-Asisguard Songar Loitering Drones and also Kamikaze Drones similar to those used in the Ukraine war. India on Friday said that Pakistan had launched 300-400 drones, likely Songar Drones, across the western border. But a number of them were shot down by Indian air defences. Countering them were the Indian air defence guns – L-70, Zu-23 and Shikla – all of which had been upgraded recently and could fire air burst ammunition, which is effective in taking down small drones.

But a majority were small quad copters don’t show up on most radars, except the low level lightweight radar which has been calibrated to detect them,” a source told The Hindu.

These drones scouted and struck Indian positions, testing Indian air defences and estimating response times. Pakistan claimed to have downed 29 Indian drones across the country, from Rawalpindi to Karachi, on May 8.

The overall air defences across the Indian air space are monitored and controlled by the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Integrated Aerial Command and Control Systems (IACCS) nodes at various locations. These cover radars, satellites, ground stations and firing units among others. In case of an incoming aerial threat, the IACCS nodes at handling the concerned location accesses the targets and assigns the particular air defence system suitable to take down the incoming targets

Indian Air Defence networks function in layers and at three levels – gun/missile system, medium range and long range. At the longest range is the S-400 with a range of 400 km, followed by the MRSAM (Medium Range SAM) with a range of around 70 km, Akash (25 km), Israeli Syyder SAM (around 10 km), and then legacy systems such as the Osa-AK and Tunguska systems. After this are shoulder-fired very short range systems like the Igla-S as well as the Strela-mounted systems.

Pakistan used HQ-16A Medium-Range Air Defence Systems to counter Indian airstrikes and drones.

Electronic Warfare and Jamming Systems were extensively used by both sides. India used the High-Frequency Jamming Systems to disrupt Pakistan’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, including GPS, GLONASS, and Beidou to degrade Pakistan’s navigation and precision-guided munitions.

Pakistan used electronic countermeasures to target Indian missile launch or control centres, improving its ability to disrupt Indian operations, South China Morning Post said.

It used Anti-Radiation Missiles to target Indian radar and communication systems, though its specific use in 2025 was not detailed. - An advanced “ABC” data sharing system made all the difference in Pakistan’s hostilities against Indian forces last week, upending combat conventions, according to a Chinese defence industry newspaper.

In a report on Monday, China Space News said the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) deployed a “locked by A, launched by B, guided by C” combat system, integrating ground radars with fighter jets, and airborne warning aircraft.

Unlike traditional air combat, where a single jet handles detection and missile guidance, Pakistan’s approach shared real-time data.

Pakistan used Takbir, Al-Battar, and Azb Series smart bombs, with ranges up to 450 plus kilometres, which gave Pakistan an edge in precision strikes from a distance, outmatching some Indian capabilities in this domain, reports said.

India’s primary manned fighter was the Dassault Rafale, a 4.5-generation jet which it has had 36 since 2019. It was used in the 2025 conflict for airstrikes. India also used Mirage 2000 to deliver Scalp missiles and other precision munitions. Pakistan claimed to have shot down five Indian fighters including 3 Rafales, one MIG 29 ad one SU 30. The French Agency France 24 said it had no evidence. And the Indians said that “losses are part of combat” without giving any detail.

The star fighter in the Pakistan air arm is the Chengdu J-10C: Acquired from China since 2022, these advanced jets were used in aerial battles. The J-10 C’s good performance highlighted Chinese military technology’s effectiveness.

India is said to have downed a Pakistani Mirage III/V, an older jet, on May 12, 2025. The Indian military showed the wreckage of the Mirage.

Among artillery guns, India used M777 Howitzers, which fired Excalibur munitions for precise strikes along the Line of Control (LoC). And Pakistan used SH-15 155mm Self-Propelled Howitzers, which are Chinese-made.

Based on available sources, weapons that performed creditably were the drones, especially the Israeli Harop Drones. Their ability to loiter and strike with high accuracy made them a key asset in the arsenal of India. Their use in targeting 36 sites, including civilian and military infrastructure, suggests operational success, even if not all strikes were fully effective. The drones’ stealth and kamikaze nature allowed India to conduct deep strikes without risking pilots.

"The Indo-Pak conflict is moving into a new drone era - one where 'invisible eyes' and unmanned precision may determine escalation or restraint. Thus, in South Asia's contested skies, the side that masters drone warfare won't just see the battlefield - they'll shape it," Jahara Matisek, a professor at the US Naval War College, told the BBC.

Drones can be used as decoys or for suppression of enemy air defences, flying into contested airspace to trigger enemy radar emissions, which can then be targeted by other munitions like loitering drones or anti-radiation missiles, Matisek said.

"This is how Ukraine and Russia both do it in their war. This dual role - targeting and triggering - makes drones a force multiplier in degrading enemy air defences without risking manned aircraft," says Prof Matisek.

While many believe India's combat drone numbers remain "modest", a recent US$ 4 billion deal with the US to acquire 31 MQ-9B Predator drones - which can fly for 40 hours and up to an altitude of 40,000 ft - marks a major leap in its strike capabilities, BBC reports.

India is also developing swarm drone tactics - deploying large numbers of smaller UAVs to overwhelm and saturate air defences, allowing higher-value assets to penetrate, experts told BBC.

Pakistan's drone fleet is "extensive and diverse", comprising both indigenous and imported systems. Ejaz Haider, a Lahore-based defence analyst told the BBC that the inventory includes "over a thousand drones", featuring models from China, Turkey and domestic manufacturers.

Notable platforms include the Chinese CH-4, the Turkish Bayraktar Akinci, and Pakistan's own Burraq and Shahpar drones. Additionally, Pakistan has developed loitering munitions, enhancing its strike capability.

Haider said the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has been actively integrating unmanned systems into its operations for nearly a decade. A key focus is the development of "loyal wingman" drones - unmanned aerial vehicles designed to operate in co-ordination with manned aircraft, he added.

Latest News

RAJI KRISHNA