India’s “calibrated response” to in cities along the western and northern borders using drones and missiles not only included a rigorous air defence but also a measured offensive action, government officials told The Indian Express.
The officials said the “calibrated response” not only meant effectively thwarting the Pakistani onslaught with the air defence shield using the Indian Air Force’s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) and its counter-unmanned aerial systems (UAS) grid, but also using long-range precision weapons, including loitering munitions, to launch strikes at four air defence sites in Pakistan and destroying one.
Loitering munitions can “loiter” or hover in the air close to the designated target before self-destructing into the target. The IACCS is an automated system developed by IAF to monitor and control various air operations.
Modern networked radars of the IAF along with the IACCS can detect, identify, intercept and destroy hostile intruders while simultaneously controlling India’s offensive packages deep inside enemy territory.
Officials told that in the last few years, the IAF has significantly enhanced its air defence efforts across all sensitive locations by increasing the presence of radars and Surface to Air Guided Weapon (SAGW) systems, all of which have been integrated into the IACCS network.
Even in usual circumstances, the IAF undertakes non-escalatory air-defence measures.
The IAF’s air defence network’s frontline protection system includes the Russian-made Igla-S. It is a man-portable, shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile (SAM) system.
As reported by The Indian Express, India has a range of missile systems deployed across its northern and western borders.
Its SAM systems — S400 Triumf, Barak 8 MRSAM (Medium Range Surface to Air Missile) and the indigenous Akash — played a key role in repelling Pakistan’s attack on Thursday as the IAF activated its integrated counter UAS grid and other air defence systems.
The counter UAS grid includes gypsy jammers, jamming rifles, soft and hard kill counter UAS systems, and enhanced capability global navigation system jammer (ECGNSS), which successfully intercepted and engaged the 400 drones that were sent across from Pakistan.
An ECGNSS jammer can disrupt or disable the navigation signals from various satellite systems like GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, and Galileo.
For its offensive action against four air defence sites in Pakistan, the Indian military used its long-range loitering munitions — the Israeli HAROPs and the HARPYs. One AD radar system in Pakistan was destroyed in the Indian onslaught.
