17 May Editorial translation
Catch up with game of drones : ECONOMIC TIMES
Paragraph 1
In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, India’s calibrated retaliatory strikes deep into Pakistani territory have reset parameters of conflict engagement between New Delhi and Islamabad. By deploying standoff weapons from within its airspace and leveraging unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a.k.a. drones, India has introduced a layer of strategic ambiguity — one that expands its toolkit vis-à-vis Pakistan in the space between conventional and nuclear.
Summary :
After the Pahalgam incident, India responded with careful yet forceful strikes, using drones and long-range weapons to reshape its defense strategy and gain an edge over Pakistan without escalating to nuclear confrontation.
Vocabulary:
Calibrated – carefully planned or adjusted
Retaliatory – acting in response to an attack
Standoff weapons – weapons that can be launched from a distance
Strategic ambiguity – deliberate uncertainty in strategy
Paragraph 2
Drones have played a key part in India’s offensive operations and in shaping Pakistan’s military response. As adversaries invest in long-range precision strikes and loitering munitions, ability to defend critical infra, cities and military assets will be as important as capacity to conduct precision strikes.
Summary:
India’s use of drones is reshaping regional defense dynamics, highlighting the need to protect vital infrastructure while being able to carry out accurate military operations.
Vocabulary:
Offensive operations – attacks initiated to gain an advantage
Loitering munitions – drones that wait around before hitting a target
Precision strikes – attacks aimed at specific targets
Critical infra – important infrastructure like power plants, bridges
Paragraph 3
While this is the first time drones have been used on such a scale between India and Pakistan, IAF has been an early adopter, with operational experiences dating back to the 1999 Kargil conflict.
Summary:
Although drone usage in current Indo-Pak operations is new in scale, India has been using them since the Kargil War, showing long-term preparedness.
Vocabulary:
Early adopter – someone who starts using technology before others
Operational experience – knowledge gained through real missions
Kargil conflict – 1999 military conflict between India and Pakistan
Paragraph 4
The Indian military has integrated drones for surveillance, targeting support and striking high-value targets, with platforms like the Israeli-origin Searcher, Heron and Harop forming the backbone of India’s UAV fleet.
Summary:
India relies heavily on Israeli-made drones like Heron and Harop for tasks such as monitoring, guiding attacks, and hitting key enemy assets.
Vocabulary:
Integrated – included as part of a larger system
Surveillance – close observation, especially for security
High-value targets – strategically important military goals
Backbone – main support system or foundation
Paragraph 5
The need to integrate these systems into air operations is reflected in the 2000–22 ‘Doctrine of the Indian Air Force’ and similar documents from the army and navy. The doctrine emphasises the evolving role of drones in modern and future air warfare as instruments of persistent surveillance, deterrence and precision engagements.
Summary:
Military policies now formally recognize drones as vital for future warfare — not just for watching enemies but for scaring them off and striking with accuracy.
Vocabulary:
Persistent surveillance – continuous monitoring
Doctrine – a formal policy or set of principles
Deterrence – discouraging an action through threat
Precision engagements – targeted military actions
Paragraph 6
Impact of drones also depends on the defences against them. Drones are vulnerable to many countermeasures, especially electronic warfare, guns and air defences. India’s counter-drone systems include multilayered sensors and weapon systems, including indigenously developed soft- and hard-kill counter-UAV systems.
Summary:
Drones are not invincible. India is developing advanced defenses to detect and destroy them using tech, weapons, and layered sensor networks.
Vocabulary:
Vulnerable – easily harmed or affected
Countermeasures – actions taken to block a threat
Electronic warfare – disrupting enemies using electronic signals
Soft-kill/Hard-kill – disabling a drone vs. physically destroying it
Paragraph 7
The IAF doctrine also highlights the need for developing and deploying counter-unmanned aerial systems (CUAS) capabilities to destroy hostile UAVs. Integrated air command and control system (IACCS), which played a crucial role in thwarting Pakistani drone and missile attacks, is IAF’s command-and-control network, which integrates air defence assets.
Summary:
India is emphasizing systems like CUAS and IACCS to coordinate anti-drone defenses and prevent enemy attacks from succeeding.
Vocabulary:
CUAS – systems to stop or destroy enemy drones
Thwarting – preventing someone from achieving something
Integrated command – centralized coordination
Assets – important equipment or personnel
Paragraph 8
Once the dust from Op Sindoor settles, the Indian military will have the opportunity to analyse Pakistan’s deployment of Chinese-origin UAVs, drawing essential lessons about them, and roles such platforms could play in any future Indo-Sino conflict. China has expanded its investment in UAVs, integrating them into both kinetic and information-based operations. India will need to close this gap and continue developing and investing in a range of layered air defence systems, including counter-drone defences.
Summary:
After Operation Sindoor, India can study how Pakistan used Chinese drones — learning how they work and preparing better for possible future tensions with China.
Vocabulary:
Deployment – positioning for use
Kinetic operations – combat involving physical force
Information-based operations – warfare using data/intelligence
Close this gap – reduce the difference or disadvantage
Paragraph 9
If the scale of reported air and ground engagements between India and Pakistan is accurate, India must urgently boost procurement and domestic production of munitions and advanced guided weapons, especially surface-to-air missiles for its air defence systems (S-400, MR-SAM, Akash, etc.) and drones (loitering munitions like Harop, SkyStriker and similar systems).
Summary:
If the recent military clashes are confirmed, India must quickly ramp up home production of missiles and smart weapons to prepare for future threats.
Vocabulary:
Procurement – obtaining military equipment
Munitions – military weapons and ammo
Surface-to-air missiles – launched from ground to destroy aircraft
Loitering munitions – drones that hover before attacking
Paragraph 10
All of these require long manufacturing lead times, and defence procurement cycles are ill-equipped to respond swiftly to sudden surges in demand amid a deteriorating security environment.
Summary:
Defense manufacturing takes time, and the current system can’t react fast to emergencies — a serious risk in worsening security conditions.
Vocabulary:
Lead times – time taken to produce something
Ill-equipped – not ready or capable
Surges in demand – sudden increases in need
Deteriorating – getting worse
Paragraph 11
Although drones have proven not to be survivable in environments with effective air defences, India can achieve some resiliency in its drone fleet by developing the capacity to rapidly reconstitute platforms lost in a conflict.
Summary:
Even if drones are easy targets for enemy defenses, India can stay strong by quickly rebuilding or replacing lost ones.
Vocabulary:
Survivable – able to remain functioning
Resiliency – ability to recover quickly
Reconstitute – rebuild or restore
Platforms – here refers to drones or aerial vehicles
Paragraph 12
India’s current fleet of drones is of Israeli origin, and will soon be bolstered by US Guardian drones. But security of supply chains, production and cost will be key if India plans to integrate their use across the services at scale.
Summary:
India mainly uses Israeli drones but plans to add American ones too. However, expanding their use depends on stable supply chains, affordable production, and cost control.
Vocabulary:
Fleet – a group of vehicles, here meaning drones
Bolstered – strengthened or supported
Supply chains – systems that deliver materials and products
At scale – on a large or widespread level
Paragraph 13
Government policy must focus on long-term orders, incentivising industry to invest in additional production capacities and R&D. This will require regulatory reforms, allocation of adequate funding and reduction of procurement uncertainty.
Summary:
To boost drone production, the government must offer stable, long-term contracts and encourage companies to invest in research and factories—backed by clear rules and reliable funding.
Vocabulary:
Incentivising – giving motivation or reward to take action
R&D – research and development
Regulatory reforms – changes in rules and policies
Procurement uncertainty – unpredictability in government purchasing processes
Paragraph 14
As India builds its drone warfare capacity, it must also step up efforts to frame rules of engagement and escalation control. Drones lower the cost of conflict and make crossing thresholds easier, thus increasing the risk of inadvertent escalation. India must develop institutional mechanisms to absorb such shifts.
Summary:
As India strengthens its drone force, it must also create clear rules to avoid accidental wars—because drones make it easier and cheaper to enter conflicts without thinking through the consequences.
Vocabulary:
Rules of engagement – guidelines on how military forces operate in conflict
Escalation control – keeping conflicts from growing worse
Inadvertent – unintentional or accidental
Institutional mechanisms – formal systems or processes within organizations
Final Paragraph 15
Finally, India must internalise lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, where the use of UAVs and counter-UAV systems has been intense and disruptive. India’s future military effectiveness will depend not just on acquiring the right platforms, but also on evolving doctrine, procurement, training and wargaming with these technologies.
Summary:
India should learn from how drones were used in the Russia-Ukraine war. Winning future battles won’t just require buying drones—it’ll need better planning, training, and testing new tactics.
Vocabulary:
Internalise – deeply understand and adopt
Disruptive – causing major changes or interruptions
Doctrine – set of military beliefs and strategies
Wargaming – military simulations for training and planning