We are ready for next battle: Defence Ministry stresses on combat readiness for future ops

New Delhi: If India is forced into a new battle, our forces are ready for it, said Air Marshal A.K. Bharti on Monday, shedding light on the takeaways from ‘Operation Sindoor’ and combat readiness for future operations.

“The next battle will be different from the current one as it is a cat and mouse race and you need to remain ahead of the curve,” said Air Marshal A.K. Bharti on Monday.

Addressing the media on ‘Operation Sindoor’, Air Marshal Bharti said this battle was different from the previous ones but “we were ready” and “we were trained for it, we were equipped for it”.

“Technological advancements are taking place and we and our adversaries are part of it. But we are ready for it and for future battles,” he said.

Air Marshal Bharti also quoted a couplet from Ram Charit Manas to indicate the deliberate escalation by Indian forces to send a stern warning to Pakistan.

The couplet ‘Bhay bin hoye na preet (there is no love without fear)’, emphasises the importance of fear in fostering relationships with respect.

Earlier, Director General of Military Operations Rajiv Ghai said the multi-layered counter drone and air defence grid proved to be the decisive shield that foiled all Pakistan air attacks on the night of May 9 and 10 during ‘Operation Sindoor’.

The Defence official said they were already anticipating an air attack due to which they put in place a multi-layered counter drone and air defence system.

Justifying the logic behind ‘Operation Sindoor’, DGMO Ghai said the vessel of Pakistan’s sin became full to the brim with the Pahalgam terror attack and the time had come to teach the neighbouring state a lesson.

Air Marshal Bharti also criticised the Pakistani military for not appreciating India’s intent of limiting its offensive against terrorists.

“Our fight was against terror and on May 7 we hit only terror hubs but the Pakistani Army converted it into its own fight by supporting terrorists,” he said.

He described the multi-layered and integrated air defence as an impregnable shield which foiled all attempts made by Pakistani forces – including Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles – to violate Indian air space.

“The performance of the older battle-proven systems was stellar in addition to the Akash system,” he said.

The media briefing carried a video presentation based on a poem of Ramdhari Singh Dinkar and also included slides showing the destroyed PL-15 E missiles and drones that were brought down using laser guns and other electronic warfare equipment.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with top government functionaries, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and NSA Ajit Doval.

The tensions rose after Pakistan-supported terrorists killed 25 tourists and a local pony operator in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22. India avenged the deaths by carrying out airstrikes on nine terror bases in Pakistan on May 7, in which more than 100 terrorists were killed.

In retaliation, the Pakistani Army resorted to heavy shelling in forward villages and cities of India and launched drones and missiles at western parts of India, which were successfully intercepted by the armed forces of the country.

Following the drone raid, the IAF carried out a massive 90-minute operation in which 11 airbases were struck.

Most of these airbases are vital for Pakistan. An understanding with Pakistan on a ceasefire was reached on Saturday afternoon.

IANS