CDS Gen Anil Chauhan breaks silence on damage to Indian infrastructure by Pak during Ops Sindoor

ANI

New Delhi, July 16 2025 (ANI): Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said," During Operation Sindoor, on 10th May, Pakistan used unarmed drones and loitering munitions. None of them inflicted any damage to the Indian military or civil infrastructure. Most were neutralised through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic means, and some were even recovered in almost intact condition..."

Transcript

00:00During Operation Sindur, on 10th of May, Pakistan had used unarmed drones and loiterer amnisons.

00:06None of them actually could inflict any damage to Indian military or civil infrastructure.

00:10Most of them were utilized through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic means.

00:16And some of them, in fact, could be recovered in almost intact conditions.

00:20Today, we'll be talking about drones and counter-US systems.

00:25You know, throughout history, if you look, we have witnessed evolutionary as well as revolutionary changes in warfare.

00:33And that has transformed the kind of battles we fight.

00:37Change is either evolutionary, something like, you know, Charles Darwin spoke about, you know, natural selection.

00:44Gradually, it happens over a period of time.

00:47And then there's a revolutionary change, which happens all of a sudden.

00:50Something like an ice age which comes.

00:52And people who are not adapted to it or are not used to that particular environment, they go kind of extinct.

01:01So evolutionary changes have made weapons and warfighting equipment, you know, smaller, faster, lighter, more efficient, more affordable.

01:11Long back, we had rifles which were much weighty, but they were large length.

01:17We have now shorter, lighter rifles, longer ranges, much more cheaper.

01:23We can fight at night, we can fire them at night.

01:26Similarly, for tanks and aircrafts, we made them affordable.

01:29They're lighter, yet they maneuver very fast and they afford more protection.

01:33It's similar for even, say, explosives.

01:36We started with gun cotton, then probably TNT, RDX, today HMX.

01:41So in that same weight, you can get more explosive power.

01:44These are kind of evolutionary changes.

01:47They happen gradually over a period of time.

01:49On the other hand, revolutionary changes, they impact the very character of war.

01:54Necessitating organizational, doctrinal, functional, structural kind of changes.

01:58And they need new ideas, innovations, imagination and new kind of thoughts.

02:04So advances in, say, this all has happened and this has introduced those three revolutions

02:11in military affairs, which I've been talking about in large number of seminars and talks.

02:15And first, as Jali speak about, the first revolution in military affairs due to advances in surface mobility

02:21and aerial mobility.

02:24And that changes the way we used to fight.

02:27And second was, second revolution in military affairs was basically due to advances in communication

02:32and ICT technology, which again, network people, you could take faster decisions.

02:38And we always say that we are at cusp of a third revolution, which is being introduced

02:42for a data-centric kind of warfare because the advances in artificial intelligence, machine

02:46learning, data analytics and all.

02:48So these are kind of revolutionary changes.

02:51So when we talk about drones, what do you think these are?

02:55They are introducing kind of evolutionary change or a revolutionary change in warfare.

03:01I think their development is kind of evolutionary, but their employment has been very, very evolutionary

03:09as far as warfare is concerned.

03:11Initially, there was, the development was for small applications, limited ranges, restricted

03:17payloads.

03:18As the realization of the scope of deployment, utility and success increased, army started using

03:24drones in a revolutionary kind of warfare.

03:26And you've seen this in number of wars which have been fought by us.

03:31Their utility grew many folds from being simple means of transportation, photography or videography

03:37to becoming cost-effective force multipliers for modern warfare.

03:41Their unbridled and rampant use in modern day conflicts proved not only their utility, but

03:46also their ubiquity.

03:50Their augmented, they augment manned systems and enable militaries to conduct simultaneous operations

03:56across multiple domains with fewer resources and minimal danger to human lives.

04:02If you see a human being, means our cognitive thinking, we have always looked or preferred things

04:10which are, you know, you could say faster, bigger, more sophisticated, more costly.

04:16We think that these are systems which are far better.

04:18Even if you look at the motto of Olympics which says, you know, side tiers, elite tiers,

04:25four tiers, which means faster, higher, stronger.

04:27It's in our DNA, it's in our system that we think that this is better.

04:31But look at a drone, which is the antithesis of what we are thinking.

04:34It's smaller, unimaginative, very, very clumsy.

04:38Most of them, these drones are not even aerodynamic.

04:40They're cheaper, they make a lot of noise.

04:43And yet, they're effective and they're unsophisticated, inexpensive.

04:48I think this is their USP, that it is beyond the conventional thinking.

04:54It beats conventional thinking.

04:55So, this, I think, is very, very important.

04:58So, let's look at unarmed aerial vehicles.

05:01That includes drones from a factual and perceptual viewpoint.

05:06Factually, drones are a proven reality.

05:09We know that.

05:09Their widespread utility in recent conflicts demonstrate how drones can shift tactical balance

05:15disproportionately to their size or price.

05:18It's factual because the government of applications of US in modern warfare is challenging traditional ideas

05:26about air superiority, ground maneuver, and force protection.

05:31Some tactics, autonomous and intelligent operations, MUMT, asymmetric drone warfare,

05:37are making large platforms vulnerable and driving militaries to rethink the conceptual aspects

05:44of air doctrines, development of a counter-US system, and adaptive rules of engagement.

05:51So, in the conceptual realm, if you look, you know, we always thought that airspace was one.

05:57It was kind of indivisible.

05:59And it's there where manned aircrafts traditionally dominated battlefields.

06:05So, this used to be there till about 18 kilometers or 60,000 feet or so.

06:10But the introduction of, say, ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, that is, cruise as well as glide,

06:17has opened up that upper space, and we always say that today airspace also includes near space.

06:23So, that's one way.

06:24But you look at the bottom side of it, at the lowest space, which is below 50.

06:28Now, this is getting congested as this requires a special kind of a treatment and understanding

06:33because this is where most of the combat is taking place when we talk about these drones.

06:39So, the need of the R is to develop capabilities to harness this lower airspace gainfully through

06:46utilization of force multipliers like US systems, and at the same time, dissuade the adversary

06:52from doing so by developing a robust counter-US systems.

06:57During Operation Sindhuur, on 10th of May, Pakistan had used unarmed drones and Lord Ram missions.

07:03None of them actually could inflict any damage to Indian military or civil infrastructure.

07:07Most of them were utilized through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic means, and some

07:14of them, in fact, could be recovered in almost intact conditions.

07:18We need to focus on combat in future in this particular lower airspace.

07:24The ability to use LEO satellites for control of US's enhanced communication and navigation

07:30services and increase the range and functionality of drones manifold.

07:34Conventional roles that work on principles of line-of-sight data link are limited in range

07:40and capabilities.

07:41Let's now talk about counter-US system and counter-US grid.

07:47As drones and autonomous systems become the choice of weapons for targeting, developing counter-US

07:52systems to protect critical infrastructure and military assets assumes importance.

07:58Counter-US operations are extremely complicated, detecting, identifying, tracking, and neutralizing

08:05drones involves creation of a counter-US grid that must be capable of integrating and networking

08:11multiple technologies such as radars, sensors, jammers, as well as directed energy weapons.

08:17The effectiveness of this architecture will hinge upon seamless coordination and integration

08:23across air defense networks, civil aviation, regulators, and local command and control structures

08:30to avoid gaps, faticides, and operational blind spots.

08:33The modern counter-US grid is not only about technology, it's about fusing disparate assets into a resilient,

08:41adaptive ecosystem that can dynamically respond to the evolving aerial threats in a contested lower airspace.

08:48Let's switch on to Atmir Bharta of both these drones and counter-US systems.

08:54Operation Shinzoor has showed us as to why

08:57indignously developed counter-US systems and counter-US systems built for our terrain and our needs

09:04are crucial. We cannot rely on imported niche technology that are crucial for our offensive and

09:10defensive missions. We must invent and build and safeguard ourselves. Dependence on foreign technologies

09:18weakens our preparedness, limits our ability to scale up production, results in shortfall of critical

09:23spares for sustenance and round-the-clock availability. Another important aspect of this capability is that

09:29foreign weapons and sensors, their capabilities are known to all and adversaries can predict our tactics

09:35and doctoral concepts based on the capabilities of this particular system. So you may have today on very

09:41modern aircrafts, air-to-air missiles, so say ranges are known to us, so are they known to the adversaries also,

09:47and the moment if they are imported then obviously the adversary can keep out of those ranges and

09:53develop tactics accordingly. So this becomes a severe limitation but if you are developing systems

09:58with your own, their capabilities are not known to the enemy and that may add an element of surprise when

10:05actually you are in face to face in some the initial encounters at least. So when we design, make and

10:11innovate at home, we secure our secrets, cut costs, retain the initiative to scale up production and maintain

10:17around-the-clock readiness. Our Honorable Raksha Mantri has rightly said that at-pris-bhartha is not a choice,

10:24it's part of a duty. In warfare, you cannot win with yesterday's weapon systems in today's warfare. In fact,

10:31today's warfare has to be fought with tomorrow's technology and happy to note that this workshop is

10:36deliberating on crucial issues for indonization and improvement in existing US and counter US capabilities.

10:44I would like all of you during the day's deliberation to focus on a few things. First,

10:49I think is increased impetus on defense R&D to deliver next generation of solutions.

10:56Then encourage modular, upgradable design so that new technology payloads, AI modules, EW technology can be

11:04integrated quickly. Develop standardized open architecture for plug and play modules for effective

11:10counter US both for kinetic and non-kinetic systems. Fifthly, create counter US system testbeds for

11:17startups and DRDO. Sixthly, invest in secure sovereign software stacks for UV control and anti-jamming.

11:25Seventhly, we could focus on stealth and next generation of UVs. And last and not the least,

11:31develop a long-term vision roadmap for swan drones, drone carriers, MU-MT, direct energy weapons,

11:37artificial intelligence part, counter US systems, etc. Towards the conclusion, I would say that this

11:44one-day workshop being organized by the Office of Scientific Advisor to SISC in collaboration with

11:50Senjos is a must-needed step towards evolving strategy to make India self-reliant and future-ready

11:56in counter US and US technologies. I'm also very happy to note that the exhibition is being organized

12:02on the sidelines of this workshop to provide an opportunity to the industries to showcase their

12:07products to the users. I wish all the participants, speakers, organizers the very best for an unprecedented

12:14success for the workshop come exhibition and look forward to a feedback to institute further and

12:20necessary improvements. At the end, I will have a small little submission. This first particular session,

12:26I believe, can be renamed as Challenges in Indonization of UV components rather than talking about problems

12:33envisaged by users to the use of imported components in the UV. That would not be a correct

12:39kind of a message. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for a very, very patient hearing. Thank you.

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