Operation Sindoor: India’s Strategic Defence Move Against Turkish Drone Threat

Turkish drones , once hailed for their battlefield prowess in Ukraine, faced a stark reality check during the recent skirmish between India and Pakistan. While these drones had earlier gained fame for striking Russian assets in the early days of the Ukraine war, their limitations became clear once Russia beefed up its air defences. Since then, Ukraine has relegated them to surveillance and artillery support roles.

Pakistan, banking on these Turkish drones during its retaliation to India’s Operation Sindoor , found its strategy falling flat. The drones - capable of flying for 27 hours according to their maker - failed to make an impact as Indian forces intercepted and destroyed them midair. India’s swift and effective drone defence, likely informed by lessons from the Ukraine conflict, denied Pakistan the edge it sought through drone swarms.

Interestingly, many of these Turkish drones were neutralized by India’s own low-cost, domestically built drones - a symbolic blow to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambitions of asserting Turkiye as a dominant Muslim power. The drones supplied to Pakistan were reportedly not of the same advanced grade as those sold to Ukraine, but their failure still stung. This frustration was evident when Turkiye sent only a junior official to attend India’s post-operation defence briefing - a move interpreted as quiet dismay over the failed performance.

Meanwhile, India also unleashed its Israeli-made Harop drones - deadly loitering munitions designed to crash into targets with explosive payloads. These proved highly effective, reportedly taking out Pakistan's air-defence systems and strategic military positions between May 7 and 10.