India’s air force chief has called for more combat and support capacity after Operation Sindoor, saying the 2025 campaign demonstrated the importance of coordinating forces and information.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Oct. 25 that Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh described the operation as spanning 1,200 kilometers across and reaching 200 kilometers in depth. Singh said the operation drew on intelligence, networked operations, precision weapons, electronic warfare, layered air defenses and counter-drone systems. “We must always retain multiple options and the ability to adapt rapidly as the adversary changes tactics,” he said.
Singh named combat strength, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic warfare, counter-drone systems, resilient networks and artificial intelligence-assisted decision support as areas for further development. He also said logistics, maintenance, infrastructure and domestic production would help sustain high-intensity operations.
India’s Ministry of Defence said the armed forces began Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, with strikes on nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The ministry said the strikes followed the April 22 Pahalgam attack, which killed 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen, and did not target Pakistani military facilities.
In a May 8 account, the ministry said Indian systems neutralized drones and missiles used in an overnight Pakistani attempt to engage military targets in India. It also said Indian forces targeted air-defense radars and systems in Pakistan that morning.
Singh said the Indian Air Force’s Capability Perspective Plan-2047 and updated 10-year plans guide its longer-term planning. He linked national security to economic growth, saying stronger technological and economic capacity can also support India’s strategic power.
