This post is being written while the ceasefire is in force and Operation Sindoor is paused. This is by no means a detailed analysis, just a perspective.
Key pointers:
Operation Sindoor was a cold, calculated, high precision military response to not just the Pahalgam attack which took place on April 22, 2025, resulting in the deaths of 26 tourists and a pony owner, but to the brazenness with which Pakistan operated terrorist training centres and launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan. According to John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute this operation was a new doctrine for India.
The response from India on the intervening night of 8th May and 9th May have resulted in a new red line - any terror attack launched from Pakistan will be treated as acts of war. There would be no difference between terrorists and terrorist sponsors or backers. Thus, no distinction between the jihadis and their masters/handlers. The question is whether India will respond in the same way as they did on 7th May in response to every terror attack that may take place in future.
The Indian military response on 7th May and 8th/9th May were conducted under a nuclear overhang, meaning that the potential for nuclear escalation was a significant factor in their actions. This effectively put an end to the nuclear blackmail which prevented strong and decisive kinetic action by India.
Operation Sindoor showcased jointness; an "absolute synergy between the three services in every single domain." The coordination between the army, air force and navy was near perfect. While strikes were carried out primarily by the Air Force with the Army playing a supporting role, the Indian Navy remained deployed in the northern Arabian Sea in a deterrent posture with full capacity to strike select targets at sea and land including Karachi.
India projected its offensive power and defensive capabilities by use of a blend of indigenous (BrahMos, Akash, Nagastra) and foreign platforms (Harpy and S-400) in a high intensity conflict.
While drones revolutionised warfare and has been used extensively in the Ukraine conflict and in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict, it cannot win wars. Pakistan was probably induced by Türkiye to use drones to overwhelm Indian air defences much like Armenian air defences. The ploy failed miserably. Drones can complement other weapons systems; they cannot replace them.
Pakistan's retaliation to India's action on 7th May was neutralized and within a few hours, India struck Pakistan targeting it with such ferocity decimating its air bases and other facilities. The attack was very calibrated and controlled in manner and India ensured that it didn't escalate into an all-out conflict.
India's military actions have been described as "non-escalatory, proportionate, calibrated and responsible because it didn't commit ground forces, especially the Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) as an integral part of the Cold Start doctrine for shallow incursions. There was no visible action for occupying territory under Pakistan's control.
India through Op Sindoor achieved all three key objectives - military, political and psychological. Spencer aptly described the operation as a limited war conducted for limited but vital aims to re-establish deterrence, impose costs on Pakistan's terror infrastructure and re-define the rules of engagement between two nuclear armed states.
Restraint is not to be construed as weakness; it is discipline in pursuit of strategic objectives.
