Anniversary of Operation Sindoor

May 9, 2026

Abhishek Vij

A year ago, in response to the brutal massacre by terrorists in Pahalgam, the Indian Army successfully carried out Operation Sindoor. In this operation, the Indian Army penetrated Pakistan, destroying nine terrorist hideouts and damaging several airbases. Pakistan was forced to plead for a ceasefire in anguish. Even today, US President Donald Trump never tires of claiming that he prevented a war between two nuclear-armed nations, India and Pakistan, which would have otherwise suffered heavy losses on both sides. But no one believed Trump’s claim. Even a year after Operation Sindoor, India remains vigilant against Pakistan’s nefarious intentions. India has taken several new decisions to strengthen its military. One significant decision is that for the first time in India, a separate drone force of 50,000 personnel will be created. The three-yearlong Russia-Ukraine war and the recent US-Iran war have taught India that a drone force can be effective in today’s times. It can teach the enemy a lesson without harming its own soldiers. It has also been decided to create this force within the BSF and ITBP. It will be deployed as the first line of defense in the event of an enemy attack. This drone force, being developed in India, will receive technical support from the Data and Cognitive Warfare Force. Over the next three years, 15 new Centers of Excellence will be established where real-time battle training will be provided through simulators and virtual reality. All three security forces—the Army, BSF, and ITBP—will be involved. This drone force will perform the role of intelligence, surveillance and precision strike. This system will be supported by the Air Force’s Integrated Air Command and the Army’s ‘Akashteer’ system. The goal is to provide basic drone training to every soldier in this drone force, ensuring that every soldier on the battlefield has their own drone. Each Army corps will be equipped with 8,000 drones, creating a massive force of 100,000 drones. Future drones will have a space-to-sea capability, as other countries are also developing hardened drones with greater operational capabilities and swarm attack power.It was found that our anti-drone capability is insufficient to detect and destroy enemy drones carrying narcotics and weapons into our country. Therefore, we are strengthening our drones against electronic warfare and cyber warfare. India began working to strengthen this capability last year. 120 new startups were established, and 20 new companies became active in drones and AI electronic warfare. 16,000 MSMEs are contributing to this effort. Thus, 75 percent of the defense budget of Rs 7.85 lakh crore is being spent in India, and India’s total defense imports have decreased by 11 to 15 percent in a single year. We are also enhancing the capabilities of the drone army we are building. We are empowering them with autonomous decision-making through new data patterns. We have significantly promoted indigenous weapons manufacturing. For example, in 2015, 15 percent of the BrahMos missile’s components were manufactured domestically, while today this rate is 72 percent. This decision, coinciding with the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor, is a timely effort to modernize the Army.

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