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The India–Pakistan aerial clash marked South Asia’s first major drone war—a sign of what's to come.
Image Source: Getty
Filling the night sky with attack drones—last week’s turbocharged aerial conflict between India and Pakistan marked the first instance of heightened drone warfare in South Asia. The hostilities that transpired between 6–10 May 2025—a result of the terror attacks in Pahalgam—signified the looming centrality of air power in future India-Pakistan battles. Through the conflict, India’s manoeuvrings via ‘Operation Sindoor’ were timely, precise, and in retaliation for the aggression and attacks by Pakistan. For the first time in India-Pakistan disputes, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and systems to counter them were front and centre.
Both countries used drones in contrasting styles. While Pakistan attempted to overwhelm India’s aerial defence capacities, India deployed its drones more precisely. India’s UAVs conducted targeted attacks on Pakistan’s military infrastructure and used them to suppress enemy air defence (AD) assets.
Through the conflict, India’s manoeuvrings via ‘Operation Sindoor’ were timely, precise, and in retaliation for the aggression and attacks by Pakistan.
Drawing from recent geopolitical discords, the Ukraine-Russia conflict offers a central lesson, primarily the high level of drone integration in modern warfare. This is now playing out in the India-Pakistan context as well. The primacy of the aerial theatre in this conflict also ensured that its geographical extent far exceeded that of the 1999 Kargil war.
Through the conflict, Pakistan deployed hundreds of drones to attack and overwhelm India’s military and civilian infrastructure. Reports suggest Pakistan sent over 600 drones during this time. During the intervening night of 7 and 8 May 2025, around 350–400 drones were sent by Pakistan into India. For these attacks, Islamabad deployed Turkish-supplied drones such as the Byker Yiha Kamikaze and Asisguard Songar.
Despite these attempts, the Indian military successfully intercepted and repelled/thwarted the attacks via its multi-layered air defence system that utilised and synced the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) and the Indian Army’s Akashteer system.
India used the S-400 Triumf Missile System, the Barak-8 system, the L-70, and ZU-23mm twin-barrel guns, the Akash system, and the Pechora surface-to-air missile systems to counter and intercept Pakistan's UAVs and missiles. This intricate air defence system protected India’s military and civilian assets, enabling effective counter-offensive capabilities.
India’s military drone infrastructure involves a combination of indigenously made systems, those acquired from Israel, jointly produced between Indian and Israeli companies, and a capacity-enhancing delivery expected from the United States (US) in a few years.
While there are no official figures, reports suggest India’s military has inducted 2,000-2,500 drones. This number is expected to increase as purchase orders fructify and domestic manufacturing capacity ramps up.
India’s indigenously developed drones include the Nagastra, a loitering munition developed by Solar Industries and ZMotion. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed the Rustom, Nishant, and Lakshya-1 for reconnaissance.
India used the Harop drones to target Pakistani military infrastructure in three locations during Operation Sindoor.
Further, central to India’s drone arsenal are Israeli-made reconnaissance systems like the IAI Searcher and Heron. It has also purchased loitering munitions such as the Harpy and Harop, originally from Israel. The Sky-Striker, an adapted version of the Harpy, is now co-produced in India as a joint venture between Elbit Systems from Israel and Alpha Design, based in Bengaluru.
India used the Harop drones to target Pakistani military infrastructure in three locations during Operation Sindoor. Concurrently, the Harpy drones were deployed as part of the ‘Suppression of Enemy Air Defence’ (SEAD) tactics. The Sky Striker was reportedly used to take out Pakistan’s terror infrastructure at the beginning of Operation Sindoor.
India also signed a deal in 2024 to procure 31 MQ-9 B Predator drones from General Atomics to strengthen its capacity. The delivery is expected within four years.
Pakistan’s drone programme consists of a mix of domestically manufactured systems and supplies from China and Turkey. Though uncorroborated, reports suggest that Pakistan’s total drone fleet exceeds a thousand.
The domestically made drones include the Burraq and Shahpar. The Burraq was Pakistan’s first indigenously built drone, created with China’s support in 2009. Initially developed only for intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance, the Burraq now also includes attack capabilities. The Shahpur is a medium-altitude long-endurance combat drone with three upgrades thus far. It reportedly has a 30-hour endurance and a 500-kilogram payload ability. While its claims are lofty, they remain unverified.
Pakistan’s drone programme consists of a mix of domestically manufactured systems and supplies from China and Turkey.
Furthermore, Pakistan’s fleet also includes the CH-4 from China, the Byker Yiha Kamikaze, the Asisguard Songar, and the Bayrakter from Türkiye.
The hub of Pakistan’s drone fleet is in Murid in Chakwal, Punjab, where India’s precision strikes reportedly damaged its UAV infrastructure and setup. This is a significant feat considering Murid houses Pakistan’s Shahpur, Burraq, and Bayraktar fleets.
Given Operation Sindoor’s efficacy, India’s drones are technologically superior to Pakistan’s mass-produced and relatively less expensive fleet. The launch, development, and joint manufacturing of multiple indigenous drone products with Israel underscore and reflect New Delhi’s expanding industrial capacity. However, Pakistan’s close partnership with China and Türkiye could provide Islamabad with enhanced technology access and financial assistance, which could catalyse its drone programme.
As things stand, drones and the aerial domain will remain central to future conflicts between India and Pakistan. Compared to fighter aircraft, their relatively inexpensive nature will ensure they are integrated into tactical and strategic calculations during future escalations. Further, their dual-use capacities for reconnaissance and attack enhance their appeal to military planners.
The launch, development, and joint manufacturing of multiple indigenous drone products with Israel underscore and reflect New Delhi’s expanding industrial capacity.
Incorporating learnings and data from the current conflict, Pakistan could deploy an improved and increased number of drones to overwhelm India’s air defence systems and change future air-power dynamics. India must ramp up production and deployment of its already intricate and impressive air-defence architecture to counter this development, while ensuring mass production of drones of varying capabilities.
For South Asia, drones provide new escalatory dynamics under the nuclear threshold, which are here to stay and must be managed. The aerial domain will be central to future India-Pakistan flare-ups.
Suchet Vir Singh is a Defence Analyst. He was also an Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
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Suchet Vir Singh is a defence analyst. Until recently, he was an Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. His research interests include India’s defence services, ...
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