By Maj. Gen. (Retd.) S.G. Vombatkere

With the rapid advances in science and technology for military use, contemporary warfare is multi-faceted. This was observed in Operation Sindoor, which is India’s strong and uncompromising response to Pakistan’s State-sponsored terrorist attack on tourists at Pahalgam on 22nd April. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave India’s Armed Forces full freedom to strike against Pakistan at a time, place and method of their choosing. The military aim was, as the PM said, terrorists ko mitti mein mila denge. [Ref. 1]

India’s accurate targeting of nine Pakistani terrorist headquarters and training centres, using missiles, drones and other munitions, demonstrated its successful use of high-tech weapons in kinetic warfare. As reported, “India shoots down a ‘substantial’ number of munitions fired at civilian, military locations; military stations in Jammu, Pathankot, Udhampur targeted late in the evening, but no losses suffered; India’s response in ‘same domain’, air defence system in Lahore neutralised: Defence Ministry.” [Ref. 2]

The success of Operation Sindoor is marked by Pakistan Army’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) initiating a call to India’s DGMO, calling for ceasefire. India agreed to ceasefire, but not unconditionally.

Information warfare

The visible part of Operation Sindoor was kinetic attack on terrorist headquarters and training centres in PoK and Pakistan Punjab. India’s kinetic attacks were integrated with Information Warfare (IW) to detect, acquire and destroy designated targets. IW is the use and management of technology, to gain battlefield and strategic advantage over an adversary. IW is a combination of electronic warfare, operational security, psychological operations, military deception, cyber warfare and AI & robotics and may include physical destruction of the enemy’s key persons or installations.

IW calls for integrating weapon platforms and equipment of all fighting forces on land, on and under the sea, in the air, and in space, with techniques and skills, which are based upon different sciences and technologies.

Every military uses IW methods to assess the enemy military’s strengths and weaknesses and the morale (primarily the motivation and will to fight) of its middle-level and junior leaders and soldiers. The morale and mood of the public of the adversary’s society is also assessed. IW methods are also used to prevent the enemy from getting to know similar information about itself. This is not restricted to militaries, but to the belligerent countries.

IW enables every country and its army to use carefully designed misinformation and disinformation, to weaken the enemy during times of war and even before outbreak of hostilities. IW operations include opening and maintaining secret channels for gathering intelligence from within the governance system of an adversary. Also, every country and its army have counter-intelligence agencies, whose role is to deny intelligence to the adversary.

Every country and its army, adopts means to create or foment discontent, confusion or disturbances, within the adversary country and army, to weaken its morale and its capability in critical areas. (This is part of India’s age-old Chanakya Neethi).

Thus, IW can be strategically used to selectively strike at the adversary country’s core sectors of command and control nodes, internal and external security, diplomatic relations, finance-commerce-banking, energy, industrial production, transportation and public health & welfare, while protecting itself from the adversary’s  IW operations.

The leadership of every country protects its citizens from the adversary’s IW of misinformation, disinformation, false news and propaganda. (This too is part of Chanakya Neethi). In war-like situations, it may not be possible to completely block news and views emanating from adversarial international State and non-State entities, who pursue their respective national agendas and narratives.

This can be observed to be happening in Pakistan, which informs the international community and its own domestic audiences, that Pakistani forces have “completely destroyed” an Indian airfield, or other targets, etc., when it is completely false.

During a recent media conference, Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, Director General Air Operations of the Indian Air Force (IAF), appropriately responded to a reporter’s question about whether India’s Rafale jet fighter was downed by Pakistan, as per some international media reports. [Ref. 3] In keeping with military practice and policy, he avoided revealing combat information, as any soldier would do. 

Operation Sindoor is an unequivocal kinetic-cum-IW response and warning to Pakistan.

The bottom line

PM Modi has clearly stated that India will show zero-tolerance to terrorism from Pakistan, emphasising that terrorism and talks cannot take place together, and terrorism and trade cannot take place together. He further warned that Operation Sindoor against Pakistan has only been kept in abeyance and the future will depend on  Pakistan’s behaviour.

So long as Pakistan continues to sponsor and export terrorism against India, even if kinetic operations are on hold based upon an agreed ceasefire, India’s IW operations will continue, to leverage its conventional military and technological advantage over Pakistan. However, this advantage will need to be continuously updated with advances in science and technology for military use, to stay ahead of the game. Being expensive, this will call for financial outgo and budgetary support, which may impinge upon various sectors of the economy.

[References (hyperlinked in the text) — 1. Rajat Pandit and Sachin Parashar; “Response to Pahalgam terror attack marks new normal in India-Pakistan ties”; <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/response-to-pahalgam-terror-attack-marks-new-normal-in-india-pakistan-ties/articleshow/121088328.cms>; The Times of India; May 12, 2025. 

2. “Operation Sindoor highlights: India hits back after intercepting Pakistan strikes”; <https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pahalgam-attack-operation-sindoor-live-updates-may-8-2025/article69551791.ece>; The Hindu; May 9, 2025.

3. “IAF RESPONDS TO PAK’S RAFALE CLAIM; Did Pakistan Down Rafale Jets?

IAF’s Thumping Victory and “all our pilots are back home” was the response; <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKv_axVX7_A>; NDTV Profit.]