SOURCE: AFI
In the wake of the April 22, 2025, terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives, India launched Operation Sindoor, a series of precision strikes targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Pakistan’s retaliatory barrage on May 7–8, 2025, aimed to overwhelm India’s air defenses, with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fixating on neutralizing India’s prized S-400 Triumf systems for propaganda value. This strategic miscalculation proved costly, as Pakistan underestimated India’s indigenous Akash and Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) systems, leading to the interception of its Fatah-I and Fatah-II guided rockets and a significant blow to the Pakistani military’s credibility.
The S-400, known in India as “Sudarshan Chakra,” is a cornerstone of India’s air defense, capable of tracking 300 targets at 600 km and engaging 36 simultaneously with missiles like the 40N6E (400 km range) and 9M96E2 (120 km range). Acquired from Russia in a $5.4 billion deal, it has been a symbol of India’s military modernization, deployed in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat to counter aerial threats. Pakistani military analysts, including Umair Aslam of Global Defense Insight, hyped the Fatah-II as an “S-400 Slayer,” claiming its 400 km range, flat trajectory, and advanced avionics could penetrate India’s defenses through saturation attacks. The Fatah-I, with a 140 km range, was similarly touted for its precision and low-altitude flight profile, designed to evade radar detection.
Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) and state media, such as PTV and the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), amplified claims during Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos that PAF JF-17 Thunder jets, armed with CM-400AKG hypersonic missiles, had destroyed an S-400 battery in Adampur, Punjab, on May 9, 2025. Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmad stated that the PAF had tracked the S-400’s “cheeseboard radar” via satellite imagery, targeting its radar and command components to neutralize the system. These claims, echoed by China’s Xinhua and Global Times, aimed to project Pakistan’s technological superiority and undermine India’s defense narrative.
This focus on the S-400 was driven by its symbolic value. Destroying or disabling India’s most advanced air defense system would have been a propaganda coup, signaling Pakistan’s ability to challenge India’s military edge.
Pakistan’s fixation on the S-400 led to a critical oversight: underestimating India’s multi-layered air defense network, particularly the indigenous Akash and Indo-Israeli MRSAM systems. The Akash, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2014, is a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) with a 25–45 km range and a 60 kg warhead. Its Rajendra radar can track 64 targets and guide 12 missiles simultaneously, with a 98% kill probability against low-altitude threats like drones and guided rockets. The MRSAM, a joint DRDO-Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) project, extends this capability with a 70 km range, active radar seekers, and the ability to engage multiple threats, including missiles and UAVs, at altitudes from 15 meters to 18 km.
During Pakistan’s retaliatory strikes, targeting 15 Indian military installations—including airbases in Srinagar, Pathankot, Amritsar, and Bhuj—the IAF’s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) and Akashteer network seamlessly coordinated these systems. The Akash and MRSAM, supported by counter-UAS technologies like jamming and spoofing, formed the backbone of India’s defense against Pakistan’s barrage of over 50 drones, missiles, and loitering munitions, including Fatah-I and Fatah-II rockets.
Pakistan’s Fatah-I and Fatah-II rockets, launched from mobile platforms like the Chinese Taian TAS5450 chassis, were designed to challenge advanced air defenses with their low-altitude, high-speed profiles and precision guidance (CEP <10 meters). The Fatah-II, in particular, was marketed as a counter to the S-400, with Pakistani analysts claiming its flat trajectory and Mach 4–6 speed could evade radar detection. However, these claims unraveled during Operation Sindoor.
On May 9–10, 2025, the IAF’s Akash and MRSAM systems intercepted multiple Fatah-I and Fatah-II rockets, including a high-profile interception of a Fatah-II near Sirsa, Haryana, aimed at Delhi. The Akash’s Rajendra radar detected and tracked the rockets’ low-altitude trajectories, guiding missiles to destroy them mid-flight at approximately 5 km altitude. The MRSAM, with its advanced radar and dual-pulse rocket motor, neutralized another Fatah-II, demonstrating its ability to counter high-speed threats despite Pakistan’s claims of stealth and evasion. Debris from these interceptions, displayed by the IAF, confirmed direct hits, with fragments of the rockets’ airframes and guidance systems showcased as evidence.
The interception of Fatah-I and Fatah-II rockets was a humiliating setback for the Pakistani military, particularly the Army, which relies on these systems for precision strikes and suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD). The Fatah series, developed by Global Industrial & Defence Solutions (GIDS), was a point of national pride, with ISPR claiming it enhanced Pakistan’s ability to strike deep into Indian territory. The failure to penetrate India’s defenses, coupled with India’s retaliatory strikes—neutralizing a Chinese-made HQ-9 SAM system in Lahore—underscored Pakistan’s vulnerabilities.
Pakistan’s claims of destroying an S-400 battery were swiftly debunked by India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) and Ministry of External Affairs. Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri dismissed reports of damage to the S-400 or airbases in Sirsa and Suratgarh as “malicious misinformation.” Time-stamped images of intact facilities and a photo-op by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an S-400 launcher in Adampur further discredited Pakistan’s narrative. However, U.S. analyst Christopher Clary noted that Pakistan’s focus on the S-400’s radar or command components, rather than launchers, could lend some credibility to their claims, though no concrete evidence has surfaced.
The PAF’s obsession with targeting the S-400 for propaganda ignored the broader threat posed by India’s layered defenses. The Akash and MRSAM systems, less glamorous but highly effective, proved more than capable of handling Pakistan’s guided rockets.
Pakistan’s strategy rested on overwhelming India’s defenses with a barrage of drones, missiles, and rockets, hoping to exploit perceived gaps in the S-400’s coverage. However, the IAF’s integrated grid, fusing data from IACCS, Akashteer, and multiple radars, ensured real-time threat prioritization. The S-400’s Very High Frequency (VHF) radars, like the NEBO SVU, excelled at detecting low-flying targets, but the Akash and MRSAM systems absorbed the bulk of Pakistan’s attack, allowing the S-400 to remain a strategic reserve. This layered approach, combined with counter-UAS measures like jamming, rendered Pakistan’s saturation tactics ineffective.
The PAF’s failure to account for the Akash and MRSAM systems reflects a broader miscalculation. Pakistan’s focus on high-profile targets like the S-400 ignored the resilience of India’s multi-layered network, which includes Soviet-era systems like Pechora and modern counter-drone technologies. The loss of an AWACS aircraft to an Indian BrahMos strike and the neutralization of Pakistan’s HQ-9 system further compounded the humiliation, exposing gaps in its own air defenses.
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