Latest news with #SAMs


News18
11-06-2025
- Business
- News18
Guns Over Growth: Pakistan's Defence Budget Hike A Survival Tactic After Op Sindoor Exposed Failures?
Last Updated: The defence budget hike has prompted concerns that funds will be diverted towards rehabilitating and building terror camps destroyed during Operation Sindoor, sources said. Pakistan is prioritising military spending over development, as evidenced by a significant 20 per cent increase in the defence budget, announced weeks after India's Operation Sindoor destroyed several terror sites in the country. This decision by the Shehbaz Sharif-led government appears to be an attempt to satisfy Field Marshal General Asim Munir's demands. The recent escalation in military expenditures underscores urgent requirements following India's precision strikes between May 7-10, 2025, which revealed critical weaknesses in Pakistan's air defence systems, top intelligence sources have told CNN-News18. Intelligence sources confirm that Chinese and Turkish systems, including HQ-9 SAMs and Bayraktar TB2 drones, were unable to intercept Indian drones and missiles. Major losses occurred at the Nur Khan airbase, necessitating a complete strategy overhaul. These failures highlighted Pakistan's technological inferiority, shared by China, in countering India's SkyStriker kamikaze drones and SCALP cruise missiles. China, aiming to enter the Tier 1 weapon market, is perpetuating a false narrative of success from Operation Sindoor, sources said. This budget increase, likely influenced by China, grants more control to Rawalpindi at the expense of Pakistan's economic stability. Despite a $22 billion debt crisis and fresh IMF loans, Pakistan has diverted funds towards military spending, ignoring warnings of fiscal unsustainability. The budget hike has prompted concerns that funds will be diverted towards rehabilitating and building terror camps destroyed during Operation Sindoor, sources said. Intelligence sources also suggest that Pakistan's spending will target vulnerabilities exposed during the conflict, including the acquisition of J-35 stealth fighters, with the first batch of 30 arriving in August 2025 at a 50 per cent discount from China. Pakistan is also acquiring PL-17 missiles with a 400km range to counter Indian AWACS and refuelers, following the failure of PL-15 missiles. Additionally, Pakistan aims to modernise its navy with Type 039B submarines and Jinnah-class frigates to secure sea lanes amid Indian naval superiority. Another significant focus of the budget increase is on Space and ISR capabilities, intending to enhance interactions with Chinese BeiDou satellites for real-time battlefield surveillance, especially after India's actions left Pakistan's reconnaissance capabilities blinded. Furthermore, the budget hike is seen as a measure to suppress domestic threats, such as those from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, under the guise of addressing external threats from India. According to intelligence sources, Pakistan's defence budget increase is a survival tactic following the battlefield failures exposed during Operation Sindoor. First Published: June 11, 2025, 11:14 IST


NDTV
22-05-2025
- NDTV
In Pics: The Air Defence System That Gave India Edge During Op Sindoor
India's Air Defence Systems proved their prowess at the height of the tensions with Pakistan during 'Operation Sindoor', intercepting numerous drones, missiles, micro UAVs, and loitering munitions, emerging as a globally actionable defence asset. Here is a look at India's 'Guardians Of The Sky' that gave it edge during Operation Sindoor India's integrated air defence system is an automated system integrates data from forces to combat aerial threats. It includes systems operated by the Army, Navy and the Air Force, which was brought together under the Integrated Air Command and Control System. This is followed by a second layer that includes to-a-point defence systems to protect specific areas or assets. The fourth, for area-defence, are long-range SAMs fired from the Russian-made S-400 and the fighter jets.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Clip of Pakistan general saying country 'lost jets' is doctored
"Breaking News Pakistan confirms loss of 2 JF-17s to Indian SAMs -- 1 F-16 also SHOT DOWN," reads an English-language Facebook post on May 8, 2025. The accompanying video appears to show Chaudry at a podium saying: "I regret to confirm that two J-F 17's aircraft were lost during active duty. This loss isn't just numbers for us, it represents a blow to our morale." Similar posts sharing the video also surfaced elsewhere on Facebook and on TikTok in the days after India said it launched strikes against "terrorist camps" in Pakistan in retaliation for a deadly attack on tourists in the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad (archived link). Pakistan denies the accusation. The nuclear-armed rivals traded fire for four days before US President Donald Trump announced a truce on May 10. The flare-up in violence was the worst since the rivals' last open conflict in 1999 and sparked global shudders that it could spiral into full-blown war. Pakistan has not said it lost military aircraft as of May 20. Its military claims to have shot down five Indian fighter jets, including three advanced French Rafale aircraft, all of which were in Indian airspace at the time. India has not disclosed any losses. Reverse image and keyword searches found the manipulated video -- where the spokesperson's lips can be seen glitching -- matches footage from a press conference in December 27, 2024 published by the Pakistan military's public relations wing ISPR (archived link). "Security and anti-terrorism forces have conducted 59,775 intelligence-based operations of different categories," Chaudhry says in the presser. "During these successful operations 925 terrorists were killed." An analysis of the audio in the circulating clip using the voice cloning detection tool Hiya tool in the Verification Plugin, also known as InVID-WeVerify, found it is "very likely AI-generated" (archived link). AFP has debunked misinformation surrounding the India-Pakistan conflict here.


AFP
20-05-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Clip of Pakistan general saying country 'lost jets' is doctored
of Pakistan's military spokesman has been manipulated to make it appear he announced Islamabad lost three fighter jets during its recent conflict with India. The video shows Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudry talking about army intelligence operations in December 2024. "Breaking News Pakistan confirms loss of 2 JF-17s to Indian SAMs -- 1 F-16 also SHOT DOWN," reads an English-language Facebook post on May 8, 2025. The accompanying video appears to show Chaudry at a podium saying: "I regret to confirm that two J-F 17's aircraft were lost during active duty. This loss isn't just numbers for us, it represents a blow to our morale." Image Screenshot of the false post, taken May 20, 2025 Similar posts sharing the video also surfaced elsewhere on Facebook and on TikTok in the days after India said it launched strikes against "terrorist camps" in Pakistan in retaliation for a deadly attack on tourists in the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad (archived link). Pakistan denies the accusation. The nuclear-armed rivals traded fire for four days before US President Donald Trump announced a truce on May 10. The flare-up in violence was the worst since the rivals' last open conflict in 1999 and sparked global shudders that it could spiral into full-blown war. Pakistan has not said it lost military aircraft as of . Its military claims to have shot down five Indian fighter jets, including three advanced French Rafale aircraft, all of which were in Indian airspace at the time. India has not disclosed any losses. Reverse image and keyword searches found the manipulated video -- where the spokesperson's lips can be seen glitching -- matches footage from a press conference in December 27, 2024 published by the Pakistan military's public relations wing ISPR (archived link). and anti-terrorism forces have conducted 59,775 intelligence-based operations of different categories," says in the presser. "During these successful operations 925 terrorists were killed." Image Screenshot comparison of false post (left) and the ISPR video of the press conference (right). An analysis of the audio in the circulating clip using the voice cloning detection tool Hiya tool in the Verification Plugin, also known as InVID-WeVerify, found it is "very likely AI-generated" (archived link). Image Screenshot of InVid audio detection test. Taken by AFP on May 13, 2025. AFP has debunked misinformation surrounding the India-Pakistan conflict here.


The Hindu
12-05-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
NIT-Tiruchi alumnus remembered for the success of Akash missile systems
The Akash surface-to-air missile (SAM) system that has been deployed in the recent India-Pakistan hostilities has a Tiruchi connection. The project's director Ramprasad Ramakrishna Panyam was a graduate of Chemical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology – Tiruchi, of the 1971-76 batch. Panyam passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest in 2012 at the age of 58, when he was working as the associate director of Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad. His contribution to the success of the Akash missile has drawn attention from defence experts. 'The project was conceived in 1980s, but took over two decades to succeed, because of electronic connectivity problems, and the completely new materials being used. Mr. Panyam took over in 2002 when Akash was facing several issues. He systematically analysed all the problems, connected with the users, and took about two to three years to bring the project up to a stage of industry acceptance and production,' Srinivasan Sundarrajan, former director of NIT-T and a colleague of Panyam on the project, told The Hindu on Monday. NIT-T conferred a posthumous Distinguished Alumnus award on R.R. Panyam during its golden jubilee in 2014. 'While newer and more innovative SAMs have been developed indigenously, the Akash remains the pioneering role model, largely due to Mr. Panyam's contribution. I have worked closely with him during the project, and remember his simplicity and humble nature,' said Mr. Sundarrajan. The Akash is in the same class as the U.S. Patriot missile. It is equipped to destroy targets 25 km away, has a supersonic speed of 600 metres a second, and can intercept targets such as the cruise missile and unmanned aerial vehicles. Mr. Panyam contributed in the design and development of solid fuel integrated rocket Ramjet for the Akash. In a 2008 interview with The Hindu, Mr. Panyam had said that Akash had been cleared by the Indian Air Force after elaborate user field trials at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea in Odisha. Mr. Panyam obtained his M.E in Aerospace Engineering in 1978 from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and his Ph. D in Aerospace from Georgia Institute Technology, Atlanta, U.S., in 1983. He joined DRDL, Hyderabad, in 1983.