In May 2025, India showed the world the growing advancement of its military power through a joint operation that targeted Pakistan-based terror infrastructure following the deadly Pahalgam attack of April 22— Operation Sindoor.

The strikes set a new benchmark for India’s counter-terror strategy for their precision, scale, and most importantly, for the synergy displayed between the three armed services, intelligence agencies, and cyber units.

Operation Sindoor offered a peek into how India is seeing the future of warfare: multi-domain, technologically enabled, and strategically restrained. Standoff strike systems allowed India to hit terror infrastructure deep inside hostile territory, while multi-layered air defence played a decisive role in blunting Pakistani retaliation. At the same time, the operations also highlighted why the institutionalisation of joint military commands is essential for India’s long-term security.

A New Template for Counter-Terror Operations

Operation Sindoor unfolded on May 7, 2025, with coordinated strikes by the Indian Army and Indian Air Force (with the Indian Navy being on standby). Intelligence inputs from agencies like R&AW and NTRO complemented the strikes. Consequently, as many as nine terror camps belonging to terrorist groups Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen were destroyed across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

India employed a wide array of weapon systems from the Rafale fighter jets armed with SCALP missiles and HAMMER bombs, BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, loitering munitions, and Akash air defence system, to QRSAM air defence missiles, and AI-enabled surveillance drones.

At the same time, India used........

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