India took down Pakistan's China-made and Turkey-made weapons, say top military officials

New Delhi: India’s top military commanders on Monday said Pakistan used weapon systems of Turkish and Chinese origin during the ongoing conflict between the two nations. 

However, all these attacks were thwarted effectively by India's air defence systems, they added. These systems were made of a highly effective multi-tiered air defence grid that involved a mix of modern and vintage weapons and systems, they said during a media briefing.

Air Marshal A.K. Bharti said Pakistani forces had used Chinese-origin PL-15 missiles to attack India, but had missed the target. Turkish drones were also used by Pakistan over the last four days, but were neutralised.

Bharti said Indian armed forces continue to remain in a state of readiness, with all military bases fully functional and ready for the next mission should it come their way.

The briefing by the director generals of military operations for air, land, and sea—Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, and Vice Admiral A.N. Pramod—came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation for the first time since Operation Sindoor was launched in the early hours of 7 May.

India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday and the director general of military operations (DGMOs) of both countries were expected to talk again at noon on Monday to decide the longevity and detailed terms of a potential ceasefire. However, the call over the hotline has been delayed and is likely to happen by Monday evening, officials said.

Vice Admiral A.N. Pramod said Indian aircraft carriers in the north Arabian Sea were armed with aircraft such as the Russia-made Mig-29 fighter jets to counter the Pakistani forces.

Lt Gen Ghai said over the last four days, surface-to-air missiles as well as shoulder-mounted guns were used to neutralise intruder drones during the conflict, he said.

Meanwhile, Air Marshal Bharti denied reports that India had hit Kirana Hills and said no such fact was mentioned in the briefing on Sunday.

In a briefing on Sunday, Air Marshal Bharti had said Pakistani forces breached the international boundary and the Line of Control (LoC) using drones. The drones were vast in number and came in waves, he said.

Earlier in the week, Indian military officials had said Pakistani forces had sent about 300-400 drones into Indian airspace, largely for surveillance and testing Indian air defence systems.

Before Monday's briefing, Prime Minister Modi met top defence officials, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, defence minister Rajnath Singh, national security advisor Ajit Doval, and foreign secretary Vikram Misri to deliberate on the conflict.

Meanwhile, the Airports Authority of India allowed normal flight activity at 32 airports, which were previously closed to commercial planes. 

India has maintained that their fight is with terrorists and not Pakistan’s military or its people. During the conflict as well, Indian forces held that their attacks were measured and specific and were only in retaliation for Pakistan’s manoeuvres.

Operation Sindoor started in the early hours of 7 May when Indian forces attacked nine specific terrorist targets in Pakistan in retaliation for the massacre of 26 tourists at Pahalgam.

Also Read: Operation Sindoor: A doctrinal shift and an inflection point