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S-400, Akash: The SAMs key to IAF shield against Pakistan missiles and drones

Sources said Pakistan launched a swarm of drones and missiles between 1 am and 1.30 am Thursday morning, with India’s air defence systems immediately tracking the threats and destroying them. The debris is now being recovered from several locations.

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According to sources, India deployed the lethal S-400 in the northern borders facing Pakistan after receiving three squadrons of the missile system from Russia with more to be delivered by this year-end.

India’s flagship surface-to-air missile systems — S400 Triumf, Barak 8 MRSAM (Medium Range Surface to Air Missile) and the indigenous Akash — played a key role as the IAF activated its Integrated Counter UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Grid and other air defence systems to thwart the attacks by Pakistan on 15 military bases and several cities Thursday (May 8).

Sources told The Indian Express that the air defence shield set up by the IAF, using guns, radars, missiles and the counter-UAS grid to jam and spoof UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), prevented the Pakistani drones and missiles from reaching Indian military installations.

The sources said Pakistan launched a swarm of drones and missiles between 1 am and 1.30 am Thursday morning, with India’s air defence systems immediately tracking the threats and destroying them. The debris is now being recovered from several locations.

Responding to the Pakistani attack on Indian military installations, India also attacked their military targets, even taking out an air defence system in Lahore, using its latest loitering munitions such as the Israeli HAROPs and the HARPYs. These can “loiter” or hover in the air close to the designated target before self-destructing on impact.

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Sources said most of the military installations targeted by Pakistan were of the IAF in locations such as Ludhiana and Awantipora — the Army’s bases are co-located with these IAF bases.

Aside from the S-400, sources said, India deployed a range of other surface-to-air missile systems across its northern and western borders as part of its air defence, including the S-125 Pechora and the indigenous Akash.

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Over the past few years, India has built up its arsenal with a range of drones, including a range of loiter munitions, with the IAF and the Army’s artillery regiment.

Amrita Nayak Dutta

Amrita Nayak Dutta writes on defence and national security as part of the national bureau of The Indian Express. In the past, Amrita has extensively reported on the media industry and broadcasting matters, urban affairs, bureaucracy and government policies. In the last 14 years of her career, she has worked in newspapers as well as in the online media space and is well versed with the functioning of both newsrooms. Amrita has worked in the northeast, Mumbai and Delhi. She has travelled extensively across the country, including in far-flung border areas, to bring detailed reports from the ground and has written investigative reports on media and defence. She has been working for The Indian Express since January 2023. ... Read More