By: Kumar Aryan, Research Analyst, GSDN

The recent confrontation between India and Pakistan in May 2025 marked a watershed moment in South Asian military doctrine, demonstrating how Electronic Warfare (EW) has fundamentally transformed conventional conflict dynamics between two nuclear-armed neighbours. Operation Sindoor, launched by India on May 7, 2025, in response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22, 2025, which claimed 26 civilian lives, showcased the critical role of electromagnetic spectrum control in modern warfare. This conflict represented the first major deployment of sophisticated electronic warfare systems by both nations, establishing new paradigms for regional military engagement and revealing the growing importance of EW capabilities in determining battlefield outcomes.

 Electronic Warfare Systems Deployment

The escalation preceding the May 2025 conflict witnessed unprecedented deployment of electronic warfare assets along the India-Pakistan border. India positioned its flagship Samyukta electronic warfare system, a mobile integrated platform comprising 145 vehicles capable of covering an operational area of 150 kilometres by 70 kilometres. Developed jointly by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Electronics Limited, and the Indian Army’s Corps of Signals since 1994, the Samyukta system operates across the 1.5 megahertz to 40 gigahertz bandwidth, providing comprehensive surveillance, interception, direction finding, and jamming capabilities for both communication and radar signals.

Complementing the Samyukta deployment, India activated its Himshakti system, specifically designed for mountainous terrain operations along the Line of Control (LoC). The Indian Air Force’s Rafale squadrons brought additional electronic warfare capabilities through their integrated Système de Protection et d’Évitement des Conduites de Tir du Rafale (SPECTRA) systems, developed jointly by Thales Group and MBDA France. The SPECTRA suite provides comprehensive threat detection across infrared, radio frequency, and laser spectrums, incorporating phased array radar jammers and automated countermeasure deployment systems.

Pakistan responded by deploying Chinese-supplied electronic warfare systems along the border, including passive detection technologies and commercial-grade Global Positioning System (GPS) jammers designed to disrupt Indian precision-guided munitions and unmanned aerial systems. The Pakistan Air Force’s J-10C fighter aircraft, equipped with advanced electronic warfare suites, represented a significant technological advancement in Pakistan’s EW capabilities, reportedly interfering with Indian Rafale control systems during pre-conflict positioning on April 29, 2025.

 Global Positioning System Jamming Operations

The electromagnetic warfare campaign intensified with extensive GPS jamming operations targeting critical navigation infrastructure. Indian electronic warfare units deployed high-frequency jammers along the western border, creating GPS-denied airspace affecting areas near Amritsar, Chandigarh, and Srinagar. These jammers demonstrated capability to interfere with multiple satellite navigation platforms, including the United States’ GPS, Russia’s GLONASS, and China’s Beidou systems, significantly degrading Pakistani military aircraft navigation and precision-strike capabilities.

The jamming operations forced Pakistani aircraft to rely on alternative navigation methods, reducing operational effectiveness of their precision-guided munitions, including the Babur cruise missile system. Commercial aviation also experienced significant disruption, with Pakistan International Airlines and other carriers reporting extended flight times due to GPS signal degradation, forcing route modifications that increased operational costs and fuel consumption by one to two hours per flight.

Cyber Electronic Warfare Integration

The May 2025 conflict marked the first instance where cyber warfare operations ran parallel to conventional military engagement between India and Pakistan. Pakistan launched comprehensive cyber operations targeting Indian digital infrastructure, with Indian assessments recording over 1.5 million cyberattacks since the Pahalgam incident, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, malware infiltrations, and GPS spoofing operations. Advanced Persistent Threat group APT-36, linked to Pakistani intelligence services, employed Crimson Remote Access Trojan malware specifically targeting Indian defense personnel and critical infrastructure.

Pakistan’s cyber operations successfully breached approximately 150 Indian networks, targeting government organizations, public sector companies, and military facilities. The attacks affected entities including the Bharatiya Janata Party website, Crime Research Investigation Agency systems, and databases belonging to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and the Indian Air Force. Pakistani operatives reportedly gained control of over 2,500 surveillance cameras across India and compromised sensitive databases including the Maharashtra Election Commission systems.

Indian cyber retaliation involved patriotic hacker groups conducting coordinated attacks against Pakistani digital infrastructure, targeting the Oil & Gas Development Company Limited, Federal Board of Revenue, and major banking institutions. However, India’s cyber response remained primarily defensive, focusing on network hardening and resilience rather than large-scale offensive operations, demonstrating a more restrained approach to cyber warfare engagement.

Precision Strike Electronic Countermeasures

The effectiveness of electronic warfare systems became evident during India’s precision strike operations targeting Pakistani airbases on May 10, 2025. Indian forces successfully employed Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) operations, utilizing Israeli-built Harop loitering munitions equipped with electronic support measures to identify and neutralize Pakistani air defense radar systems. The Harop systems, immune to GNSS jamming due to their autonomous target acquisition capabilities, successfully destroyed air defense installations in Lahore and other strategic locations.

Pakistan’s Chinese-supplied air defense systems, including HQ-9 and LY-80 platforms, demonstrated limited effectiveness against India’s electronic warfare-supported strikes. The air-launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles employed during Operation Sindoor utilized sophisticated hybrid guidance systems, briefly activating radio frequency seekers for target acquisition before switching to inertial navigation to maintain stealth and avoid electronic countermeasures. Former BrahMos Aerospace Chief Executive Officer Dr. Sudhir Kumar Mishra confirmed that the missile’s design renders soft-jamming attempts ineffective due to the extremely narrow window for electronic interference.

The BrahMos missiles’ advanced Electronic Counter-Counter Measures (ECCM) capabilities, combined with their Mach 2.8 to 3.0 speed and terrain-hugging flight profiles, proved highly resistant to Pakistani electronic warfare systems. Satellite imagery confirmed successful strikes on six major Pakistani airbases, including PAF Base Mushaf in Sargodha, Nur Khan Airbase, and facilities in Karachi, demonstrating the limitations of Pakistan’s Chinese-supplied electronic warfare countermeasures against India’s precision-guided munitions.

Air Combat Electronic Warfare Dynamics

The aerial engagement phase of the conflict revealed sophisticated electronic warfare tactics employed by both air forces. Pakistan’s J-10C aircraft, equipped with KLJ-10A Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars and Data Link 17 communications systems, demonstrated effective use of electronic attack capabilities against Indian aircraft. Pakistani sources claimed successful jamming of Indian communication systems and sensor degradation, utilizing radar-off tactics and jam-resistant voice and data sharing capabilities.

The Pakistan Air Force’s integration of Chinese PL-15E air-to-air missiles with advanced electronic warfare systems reportedly achieved tactical success against Indian platforms. However, disputed claims regarding the downing of Indian Rafale aircraft highlight the challenges in accurately assessing electronic warfare effectiveness during high-intensity combat operations. French parliamentary inquiries into alleged SPECTRA system failures during the conflict underscore the evolving challenges facing Western electronic warfare systems against Chinese-developed countermeasures.

India’s multi-layered air defense systems, including S-400 Triumf, Barak 8 Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM), and indigenous Akash systems, successfully intercepted Pakistani drone and missile attacks on May 8, 2025. The integrated Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems grid employed jamming and spoofing techniques to neutralize 77 Pakistani drones during the conflict, demonstrating the effectiveness of coordinated electronic warfare defense systems.

Strategic Implications and Future Developments

The May 2025 conflict established electronic warfare as a critical domain for future India-Pakistan military engagements. Both nations demonstrated significant investment in indigenous and imported EW capabilities, with China’s role in supporting Pakistan’s electronic warfare modernization becoming increasingly apparent. The conflict validated the importance of electromagnetic spectrum control in enabling precision strikes while degrading enemy capabilities.

India’s Defense Acquisition Council approved procurement worth US$ 8.0 billion in August 2025, including 110 additional BrahMos missiles and 87 indigenous Medium Altitude Long Endurance armed drones, reflecting lessons learned from the electronic warfare-intensive conflict. Pakistan’s reported negotiations for 40 fifth-generation J-35 stealth aircraft and HQ-19 surface-to-air missile systems indicate continued reliance on Chinese electronic warfare technology to counter Indian advantages. The conflict demonstrated that electronic warfare systems have become force multipliers equivalent to traditional military assets, with the ability to determine engagement outcomes through spectrum control rather than numerical superiority. The integration of cyber operations with electronic warfare created new vulnerabilities and attack vectors, requiring comprehensive defensive strategies addressing both domains simultaneously.

Conclusion

The May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict marked a paradigm shift toward electronic warfare-centric military operations, where control of the electromagnetic spectrum proved as decisive as conventional firepower. Both nations’ deployment of sophisticated jamming systems, precision-guided munitions with electronic countermeasures, and integrated cyber-electronic warfare capabilities demonstrated the evolution of South Asian military doctrine. The conflict highlighted the critical importance of indigenous electronic warfare development, as foreign-supplied systems faced significant operational limitations during high-intensity engagements. Future military planning in the region must prioritize electronic warfare capabilities, spectrum management, and cyber-electronic integration to maintain operational effectiveness in increasingly complex electromagnetic environments. The lessons learned from this conflict will likely influence global military procurement decisions and electronic warfare system development for years to come.