GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 9th May: In a major escalation, Pakistan fired between 300 to 400 Turkish-origin drones late Thursday night targeting Indian military installations across 36 cities and towns in Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Punjab, including Srinagar, Jaisalmer, and Pathankot, the Indian Army said on Friday.
Addressing a press briefing, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi revealed that drones were also detected over Siachen Base Camp in Ladakh and the Kutch region in Gujarat—locations nearly 1,400 km apart—highlighting the massive geographic spread of the offensive.
While 50 drones were shot down by Indian air defence guns, 20 others were neutralised by radio frequency jamming. “The use of hundreds of drones is a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” Col Qureshi stated. “Our armed forces responded with force, inflicting heavy damage on Pakistani military infrastructure.”
Many of the drones were unarmed, possibly intended to test India’s aerial defence grid. However, a significant number were equipped with surveillance cameras, potentially relaying strategic visuals to Pakistani ground stations.
Sources confirmed that Pakistan employed Asiguard’s SONGAR drones—designed for round-the-clock combat operations with a 5 km range. Debris from downed drones, some of it recovered in Amritsar, Punjab, will be analysed to further establish Pakistan’s role in recent terrorist activities.
Col Qureshi said India’s air defences not only intercepted the drones but also retaliated by disabling segments of Pakistan’s air defence systems. “India’s skies are secure, and we have asserted our aerial dominance,” she added.
This massive drone offensive follows India’s precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, launched early Wednesday, which destroyed nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir without targeting military bases.
Pakistan responded with missile attacks on Indian defence establishments, but these were intercepted using India’s integrated counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS). A second wave of drone and missile strikes followed, but was again thwarted—this time by India’s Akash missile defence system, which sources say functioned on par with Israel’s Iron Dome.
Sixteen Indians, including a soldier, were killed in accompanying cross-border shelling by Pakistan. The Indian Armed Forces have vowed continued vigilance and preparedness against any further aggression.
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