Blog | The 5 Key Templates That Defined India's Op Sindoor

As conflicts in the Middle East continue to unfold with eerily similar signatures, the echoes of India's Operation Sindoor grow louder. Vishnu Som's new book offers first-person accounts from those at the forefront of the operation.

Mar 18, 2026 15:18 pm IST Published On Mar 18, 2026 15:07 pm IST Last Updated On Mar 18, 2026 15:18 pm IST

Published On Mar 18, 2026 15:07 pm IST

Last Updated On Mar 18, 2026 15:18 pm IST

Operation Sindoor, the 88-hour 'mini-war' between India and Pakistan in May last year, came to redefine modern aerial conflict in ways that are now evident in the ongoing war being fought in the Middle East. 

While my recently published book, The Sky Warriors: Operation Sindoor Redefined, focuses on first-person accounts of the Indian Air Force's (IAF) war fighters between May 7 and May 10 last year, the conflict itself can be seen through the prism of five key templates that this article lists, along with small excerpts from the book. 

The cover of Vishnu Som's book Sky Warriors. (Courtesy: Juggernaut)

1. Superiority of Long-Range "No-Escape" Zones

Air combat fought between fighter jets or by surface-to-air missile systems targeting fighters is increasingly premised on ultra-long-range weapons. Air-to-air or surface-to-air engagements, which could reliably take place at ranges no more than 100 km in the last decade, are now being fought at ranges beyond 400 km. During Op Sindoor, Russian-built S-400 surface-to-air missile systems operated by the IAF from Adampur proved to be decisive in engaging Pakistani airborne targets, in the process swinging the conflict decisively in India's favour. 

On October 7, shortly after the IAF and Indian Army struck terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Group Captain Animesh Patni, who went on to be honoured with a Vir Chakra, helmed one of the firing units of the S-400.  

"With missiles flying across the international border, Patni knew he could be called into action in minutes.  He was. Patni was ordered to fire. Weapons free, engage targets. It was a scenario that he had trained for time and time again, but always with his formidable weapons system in safe mode - the missiles would not leave their launchers. The radars and systems would simulate incoming threats. And kills would not be real. But this was the real deal."

In The Sky Warriors, I describe just how Patni and the officers and men under his command ended up bringing down a PAF Airborne Early Warning or Electronic Warning aircraft at a range of more than 400 km. No Air Force is believed to have shot down an enemy aircraft at this range.  

2. The Vital Role of Integrated Electronic Warfare........

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