The first drone war between nuclear weapons neighbors

The First World War of drones between nuclear arms neighbors broke out in South Asia.

India accused Pakistan of having launched waves of drones and missiles on Thursday in three military bases in the Indian territory and cashmere administered by the Indians – an allegation that Islamabad quickly denied.

Pakistan said it had shot 25 Indian drones in recent hours. Delhi remained publicly silent. Experts say that tit-for-tat attacks mark a new dangerous phase in the rivalry of decades, because the two parties exchange not only artillery but unmanned weapons through a volatile border.

While Washington and other world powers urge the restraint, the region vacillates on the edge of climbing, with drones – silent, distant and denable – opening a new chapter in the India -Pakistan conflict.

“The Indo -Pak conflict moves in a new era of drones – one where” invisible eyes “and unmanned precision can determine climbing or restraint. Thus, in the disputed sky of South Asia, the side that Masters Drone Warfare will not only see the battlefield – said the BBC.

Since Wednesday morning, Pakistan has said that Indian air strikes and cross -border fires have killed 36 people and injured 57 others in Pakistan and Cashmere administered by Pakistan. On the other side, the Army of India reports at least 16 civilians who died of Pakistani bombing. India insists that its missile dam was reprisals for a deadly militant attack against Indian tourists in Pahalgam last month – an attack to which Islamabad denies any role in.

The Pakistani army announced on Thursday that it had shot 25 Indian drones in various cities, including Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi. Drones – apparently Israeli haop manufacturing drones would have been intercepted using technical and weapons -based countermeasures. India claimed to have neutralized several Pakistani air defense systems and systems, including one in Lahore, which Islamabad denied.

Missiles and bombs guided by laser, drones and unmanned air vehicles (UAV) have become essential in modern war, considerably improving the precision and efficiency of military operations. These can relay contact details for air strikes or, if equipped, directly from the designating laser targets and help immediate engagement.

Drones can be used as a lure or the abolition of enemy aerial defenses, flying in the contested airspace to trigger enemy radar emissions, which can then be targeted by other ammunition such as strolling drones or anti-scamming missiles. “This is how Ukraine and Russia do it both in their war. This double role – targeting and triggering – makes drones a multiplier of force in the degradation of enemy aerial defenses without risking inhabited planes,” explains Professor Matisk.

Experts say that the India drone fleet is largely built around UAV of Israeli recognition like the IAI researcher and the heron, as well as Harpie and Harope LMOcering munitions – drones that serve as missiles, capable of autonomous recognition and precision strikes. The HAROP, in particular, indicates a change towards a war of great value and targeted with precision, reflecting the growing importance of munitions of vagueness in modern conflicts, according to experts.

The heron, says the experts, is the “high altitude eyes of India” of India for peace surveillance and combat operations. The IAI MK II researcher is designed for front line operations, offering up to 18 hours of endurance, a 300 km (186 miles) range and a 7,000 m service ceiling (23,000 feet).

While many believe that India’s fighting drone numbers remain “modest”, a recent 4 billion dollars agreement to acquire 31 MQ -9B predator drones – which can steal for 40 hours and up to an altitude of 40,000 feet – from the United States mark a major jump in its strike capacities.

India also develops swarm drone tactics – deploying a large number of small drones to overwhelm and saturate the aerial defenses, allowing assets of greater value to penetrate, say the experts.

Pakistan’s fleet of drones is “extended and diversified”, including both indigenous and imported systems, Ejaz Haider told BBC.

He said that the inventory includes “more than a thousand drones”, with models of China, Turkey and national manufacturers. Notable platforms include Chinese CH-4, Turkish Bayraktar Akinci and own Burraq and Shahpar drones from Pakistan. In addition, Pakistan has developed blur ammunition, improving its typing capacities.

Haider said that Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has actively integrated unmanned systems in its operations for almost a decade. A key objective is the development of “won wingman” drones-unmanned air vehicles designed to operate in coordination with inhabited planes, he added.

Professor Matisek believes that “the technical assistance of Israel, providing HAROP and HERON drones, was essential for India, while Pakistan’s dependence on Turkish and Chinese platforms highlights a current arms race”.

Although recent drone exchanges between India and Pakistan mark a significant escalation in their rivalry, they differ considerably from the war centered on the drone observed in the Ukraine Russian conflict, according to experts. There, drones become at the heart of military operations, the two parties deploy thousands of UAVs for surveillance, targeting and direct attacks.

“The deployment of drones (in the current conflict) instead of hunting jets or heavy missiles represents a lower level military option. Dones are less armed than inhabited planes, so in a sense, it is a limited decision. However, if it is simply a prelude to a wider air campaign, said the calculation entirely,” said Manoj Joshi, said the Indian defense analysis, said BBC.

Ejaz Haider thinks that the recent activity of drones in Jammu “seems to be a tactical response to immediate provocations, and not to large -scale reprisals (by Pakistan)”.

“A real breeding strike against India would imply shock and admiration. It would probably be more complete, involving several platforms-both inhabited and unmanned-and targeting a wider range of objectives. Such an operation would aim to offer a decisive impact, signaling a significant escalation beyond the trade of current tithe,” said Mr. Haider.

Although drones have fundamentally reshaped the battlefield in Ukraine, their role in the India-Pakistan conflict remains more limited and symbolic, say experts. The two countries also use their inhabited air forces to pull missiles against each other.

“The war of the drones we are witnessing may not last long; it could be just the start of a broader conflict,” said Joshi.

“It could point out a de -escalation or an escalation – the two possibilities are on the table. We are at a inflection point; the direction we take from here is uncertain.”

It is clear that India integrates drones into its precision precision doctrine, allowing driving targeting without crossing borders with inhabited planes. However, this development also raises critical issues.

“The drones lower the political and operational threshold for the action, offering options to monitor and strike while trying to reduce the risks of climbing,” said Professor Matisek.

“But they also create a new climbing dynamic: each drunk drone, each blinded radar, becomes a potential flash point in this tense environment between two nuclear powers.”