‘Operation Sindoor’, launched by the Indian armed forces on May 7 signified a substantial military reaction to a terrorist assault at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025, resulting in 26 fatalities. Nine distinct terrorist facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) were targeted, concentrating on the eradication of terrorist infrastructure associated with organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. No civilian as well as military locations were targeted by India. The battle not only demonstrated India’s strategic capabilities but also revealed significant vulnerabilities in Pakistan’s Defence systems, particularly its dependence on Chinese-supplied military equipment.
Why ‘Operation Sindoor’? The operation was triggered by a massacre in Pahalgam in which 26 civilians, the majority being Indian tourists, were killed by gunmen. India attributed the attack to terrorists sponsored by Pakistan. In response, India initiated ‘Operation Sindoor’ in the early hours of May 7, employing a combination of long-range standoff weapons, including air-launched missiles and loitering munitions, and struck nine locations.
Pakistan asserted that it had reacted; however, the Indian strikes were characterised as “measured, non-escalatory, and proportionate,” concentrating on terrorist infrastructure while excluding civilian or military locations. But there were tit-for-tat drone and missile exchanges when Pakistan claimed civilian losses and charged India with intensifying the conflict.
Pakistan’s overdependence on Chinese military equipment:
‘Operation Sindoor’ exposed the vulnerabilities associated with Pakistan’s armed forces’ extreme reliance on Chinese-supplied military equipment. ‘Operation Sindoor’ functioned as an operational evaluation of Chinese Defence technology against a blend of Indian and Western systems, exposing a trend of system malfunctions and suboptimal performance.
Pakistan’s military strategy has progressively relied on China as its principal weaponry supplier, a collaboration bolstered by geopolitical alignments and commercial connections. Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) indicates that China accounted for 81 per cent of Pakistan’s military acquisitions during the last five years.
Chinese arms exports to Pakistan amounted to $5.28 billion, or 63 per cent of overall Defence procurements by Islamabad during this period.
Pakistan received weapons from China valued at around $20 billion during the crisis with India.
The following items were included in the inventory: 20 fighter aircraft JF-17 Block III (equipped with Russian Klimov RD-93 engines) and 20 J-10CE (based on the Israel Lavi project), drones Wing Loong (like the US-MQ-1 Predator), frigates, submarines, missiles (240 PL-15E, an upgraded version of Israel’s Python-8), air defence systems LY-80, early warning aircraft ZDK, and other technological upgrades.
Deficiencies in Chinese Defence equipment: It was a devastating blow to China’s image as an international armaments exporter as the operation revealed a trend of malfunctions and failure to perform in Chinese-supplied equipment. Included in some of the most significant failures were:
Air defence systems: Pakistan deployed air defence systems such as the HQ-9 and HQ-16/LY-80. Despite claims to the contrary, the HQ-9 was unable to thwart numerous missiles strikes launched by India, including those employing the BrahMos. Indian electronic warfare reportedly jammed and evaded it, leaving Pakistan’s skies open for operations.
PL-15 Air-to-Air Missiles: These AAMs crashed or failed to fire during aerial combat, rendering them useless against Indian aircraft. A recovered PL-15 AAM, which landed at Hoshiarpur without hitting anything, has been displayed by Indian military personnel. The functionality of these systems that was revealed during the strikes, amply validates the reliability and compatibility concerns, which rendered Pakistan’s air force inactive.
Fighter Jets: J-10C and JF-17 Block III fighters, manufactured in China, were deployed throughout the operations. Nonetheless, they failed to obstruct or dissuade Indian airstrikes to significant levels. The assertions made by Pakistani and Chinese propaganda about J-10C aircraft allegedly shooting down many Indian jets, including Rafales, have not been confirmed or validated by any credible source. Pakistan did not provide any wreckage from the Indian aircraft or any other corroborative evidence.
Chinese-origin drones: Throughout the conflict, Pakistan employed a variety of Chinese-origin drones for offensive and reconnaissance missions. The Indian Army successfully neutralised many drones that originated from China. The debris was exhibited during public briefings. The failure of these drones to circumvent Indian air defences raises apprehensions over their stealth attributes and overall efficacy.
For precision attacks, Pakistan used Wing Loong-II drones equipped with AR-1, Chinese laser-guided air-to-surface missiles. The AR-1 missiles were either intercepted or neutralised by the Indian air defence systems before they could impact their intended targets. The inability of AR-1 missiles to breach Indian defences underscores shortcomings in their efficacy against robust air defence systems.
The YLC-8E Anti-Stealth Radar: Pakistan’s capacity to identify and follow stealth planes was weakened when Indian airstrikes destroyed the radar, which had been supplied by China and was stationed at Chunian Air Base in central Punjab.
It was promoted as the “flagship of Chinese stealth radar” in the marketing campaign. Considering that it was a frontline operational asset, this was a huge blow to the PAF.
The reliability of Indian military technologies was brought to light during this operation, which also highlighted the constraints faced by Chinese arms.
Earlier disillusionment regarding Chinese systems has been validated by the failures described above, and they are expected to have a significant impact on the demand for Chinese weaponry, which had already been decreasing owing to quality issues.
Poor quality issues: The all-weather relations between China and Pakistan, coupled with Pakistan’s massive reliance on Chinese weapon resources, encouraged the Chinese state media to take a keen interest in any military conflict between India and Pakistan.
The Chinese military has chosen not to address the effectiveness of the Chinese weapons that Pakistan used during the ongoing war with India. When asked about the recent news of India’s recovery of an unexploded PL-15E missile, Chinese Defence Ministry Spokesperson Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang played down the relevance of the incident.
The PL-15E missile, according to Colonel Zhang’s remarks during the Press conference, has been showcased at multiple Defence expos across the world and is an exportable system.
Chinese citizens, fuming in the face of international shame, took to social media to brand Pakistan’s military and air force with harsh criticism, claiming that the Pakistanis were unprofessional in their use of the HQ-9 air defence system, which was manufactured in China.
Inadequate training and operational inefficiencies on the part of Pakistan were the main reasons, according to them, why the HQ-9 system failed to counter Indian missile strikes.
Despite China’s determined attempts to establish itself as a trustworthy alternative to arms suppliers from the West and Russia, the battle has shown basic inadequacies in the dependability and combat efficacy of Chinese military equipment.
Reliability issues with Chinese technology have persisted for a long time due to issues with crucial components, poor quality control, and insufficient after-sale repair and maintenance.
There has been a recurring issue, as evidenced by previous incidents, such as the Pakistan Navy experiencing problems with its frigates and Nigeria and Myanmar experiencing problems with their fighter jets.
Beyond the battlefield, these problems slowed down China’s arms exports and gave other manufacturers, including India, a chance to highlight their reliability in combat.
India’s neutralisation strategies: The accomplishment of ‘Operation Sindoor’ demonstrates the increasing credibility of Indian systems and the country’s Defence industrial capabilities. It was made possible by a convergence of sophisticated strategies, cooperation among all parties involved, and Western technology, which successfully countered the defence equipment supplied by China to Pakistan.
Appended below are the Indian offensive’s highlights:
Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS): The system facilitated the effective coordination and management of all air defence activities in real time during ‘Operation Sindoor’. Integration of the ‘Akashteer’ AD system with IACCS had been achieved a few months prior to ‘Operation Sindoor’. Akashteer synergised the joint operations, where ground-based resources and the IAF’s air defence teams could efficiently work together, leading to the best possible solution.
The Recognised Air Situation Picture (RASP) was created by combining data from both ground-based and airborne sensors. This enabled the quick detection, identification, and interception of hostile threats, such as aircraft, drones, and missiles.
Hence, an impregnable air defence shield was maintained and rapid reactions to retaliatory drone and UCAV attacks by Pakistan were guaranteed through the system’s seamless integration and cooperation among the Army, Navy, and Indian Air Force (IAF).
Critical for protecting Indian airspace and carrying out accurate offensive strikes, IACCS drastically cut down on the OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) loop, speeding up decision-making and the time it took to go from sensor to shooter.
When compared favourably to other developed systems around the world, India’s technological independence was on full display in the creation and implementation of IACCS.
Consequently, not a single Pakistani plane crossed into Indian territory throughout the conflict, and Indian airstrikes effectively incapacitated Pakistan’s air defence system, which was mostly built by Chinese hardware.
In simple terms IACCS was the ultimate war-enabler for India, like a ‘Man of the Match’ of a game.
Electronic warfare and jamming: The HQ-9 and other Chinese air defence systems were jammed and bypassed by the IAF using its cutting-edge electronic warfare capabilities. The operation was over in just 23 minutes, because of the Indian strikes which were able to go forward without considerable resistance.
Indigenous systems for missile defence: The indigenous surface-to-air missile system known as the Akash Missile System was mobilised to neutralise several aerial threats, one of which was the J-10C fighter jets and the PL-15 missiles. Countering Pakistan’s air capabilities was greatly aided by its efficacy.
To boost its layered defence, India utilised the Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) systems to neutralise drones with Turkish origins, although the main target was Chinese equipment.
Radar and surveillance technology: The Arudhra and Ashwini Radars were crucial in assisting the operations for countering the aerial threats, with their tracking and interception capabilities. With the assistance of these systems, India could maintain highest levels of situational awareness and respond to threats.
India’s capacity to coordinate offensive operations and defences was enhanced with the first operational usage of the Netra AEW&CS (Airborne Early Warning and Control System), which offers 360-degree surveillance. This platform played a key role in the operation’s success.
Precision strikes and destruction: Pakistan’s air defence system was weakened when the IAF neutralised vital equipment supplied by China, including the YLC-8E radar at Chunian Air Base. This was a component of a larger plan to target and destroy vital infrastructure.
Comparative analysis of Indian vs. Chinese systems:
During the operation, the divergence in defence technology between China and India was clearly visible. While Chinese systems like the HQ-9 and PL-15 faltered when subjected to stress, combat-proven and dependable Indian platforms like the QRSAM, Netra, and Akash emerged victorious.
This imbalance was highlighted by the lightning-fast strikes and Pakistan’s helpless reaction, which left its defences exposed.
Multitude of implications: There are wider geopolitical and economic ramifications to the Chinese equipment’s failure during ‘Operation Sindoor’. It may even eclipse its strategic potential against Taiwan and the United States. The credibility of China’s arms exports and production has taken a hit because of ‘Operation Sindoor’, which has increased mistrust over the dependability and quality of China’s military weaponry. Chinese armaments exports have been falling for some time now due to quality concerns, but these setbacks might accelerate the process. With the operation highlighting the potential hazards of being too reliant on one source, Pakistan may begin to diversify its defence procurement.
Fall in Chinese stock market caused by Chinese equipment’s ineffectiveness in Pakistan: Despite earlier gains, the Chinese stock market — and the country’s Defence industry in particular — saw a sharp fall soon after ‘Operation Sindoor’ ended. Chinese defence shares rose sharply before the ceasefire, on the back of market predictions of further weapon sales to Pakistan in anticipation of a protracted conflict. But these gains were undone with the May 10 poor performance of Chinese weaponry as well as ceasefire announcement.
Substantial Stock Decline: On May 13, 2025, investors dumped their shares in Chinese Defence equities, causing a drop of up to 9 per cent in value.
A 2.9 per cent decline was recorded by The Hang Seng China A Aerospace & Defence Index (HSCAAD). Down as much as 9.2 per cent were notable entities like AVIC Chengdu Aircraft, maker of the J-10C.
The PL-15 missile manufacturer, Zhuzhou Hongda Electronics Corp, lost as much as 6.5 per cent of its value.
The share price of China State Shipbuilding Corporation fell by almost 4 per cent.
Market uncertainty: The sudden drop in stock value of Chinese military equipment producers reflects growing market concern about the reliability and effectiveness of Chinese weapons in conflict.
Before the ceasefire and the mounting claims of equipment failures, the market had war-related premiums, which were later abolished. Alternatively, following ‘Operation Sindoor’, Indian Defence equities skyrocketed, with some companies seeing gains of 39 per cent or more. This was a sign of market faith in self-reliance of India’s Defence capabilities.
This highlights an emotional ‘tale of two markets’ where investors have perspectives.
The way forward: In addition to accomplishing its military goals by India, ‘Operation Sindoor’ exposed serious weaknesses in Pakistan’s defence systems that had been supplied by China. By utilising modern electronic warfare techniques, indigenous missile systems such as Akash, and superior radar and surveillance technology, India was able to neutralise the HQ-9, PL-15, YLC-8E, and J-10C, among others, due to their ineffective performance.
However, knowing China, in order to recover from the embarrassment of poor performance of Chinese produced equipment, all corrective measures, by now, would have been taken by relevant teams in China. Soon they will reequip Pakistan for the next offensive.
China is expected to deliver about 30 fighters, out of a total of 40 J-35s, 5th generation stealth fighters, to Pakistan between August 2025 and early 2026.
To deal with such a situation, New Delhi must beef up its operational readiness.
The ramifications for regional security and global arms markets will be long-lasting. Indian defence arms and equipment manufacture needs an impetus to keep up the pace of research and development.
(The author is a retired Group Captain of the IAF)
–IANS
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