'6 am would've been the best time, but...': CDS Anil Chauhan explains why Operation Sindoor was carried out at 1 am

Unlike traditional warfare, this was fought on land, in air and sea, electromagnetic space and cyber domains, where the adversary was seen only through the help of satellite and electronic images or signal intelligence, Chauhan said.

Ranchi: Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, said Operation Sindoor heralded a "new kind of warfare", and ensured that India beat Pakistan decisively in every escalation during the strike.

Unlike traditional warfare, this was fought on land, in air and sea, electromagnetic space and cyber domains, where the adversary was seen only through the help of satellite and electronic images or signal intelligence, he said.

The top military officer also said the first strikes during the operation were conducted at 1 am to avoid civilian casualties across the border.

"It was a new kind of warfare... Till now, we have assumed victory in terms of capture of territory, the number of equipment destroyed, or the number of prisoners of war you have captured or soldiers you have killed...These were associated with traditional ways of fighting warfare.

"One of the matrices of victory over here is the sophistication of our attack, which was demonstrated there... Precision strikes for long-distance targets during the night required special efforts... We beat Pakistan decisively in every escalation during Operation Sindoor," Gen Chauhan asserted.

The first strikes took place between 1-1.30 am on May 7 on nine identified terrorist targets to prevent civilian casualties, he said during an interaction with school children on Operation Sindoor at the Raj Bhavan here on Thursday.

Operation Sindoor was launched in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists.

"Earlier, we did the Balakot operation, but we didn't have satellite images or photos... But what we did at 1 am now (Operation Sindoor), despite difficulty in collecting evidence in the darkness of night, was due to twin reasons -- first, we had confidence in our capabilities that we could take imagery, and the second, we wanted to avoid civilian casualties.

"The best (option) would have been the time of 5.30 am or 6 am... But that time of the first Azan or Namaz... many civilian lives would have been lost. We wanted to avoid that completely," Gen Chauhan said.

He said that India was monitoring the neighbouring nation's flying activities for some time and chose the strike on the night of May 7, as the weather was clear with no rain prediction.

Contrary to the general notion that the army was engaged at seven targets and the air force at two, the "navy was also involved in the strikes with S400 and S120, and deployment of navy commandos in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab in addition to the Arabian Sea", he said.

"During Uri and Balakot, we chose land and air medium, but in this operation, a surprise element was there as we adopted a new strategy, which was needed for success, and used drones, the capability of which we acquired," Gen Chauhan said.

He said the evolving character of warfare is now driven more by technology than the sheer number or territorial occupation.

"Modern warfare demands that we fight today's conflicts with tomorrow's technology. The battlespace is no longer limited to traditional domains of land, air, and sea and has expanded to include space, cyber, the electromagnetic spectrum, and even the cognitive domain. In recent operations, this shift was evident.

"India was able to strike deep into enemy territory with long-range precision weapons, guided by satellite imagery, electronic surveillance, and signal intelligence, often without direct visual contact with the adversary. These were non-contact, multi-domain operations where success was not measured by the ground captured, but by the level of dominance and sophistication displayed across all levels of escalation," he emphasised.

Giving an example of the strike on Sarjal village in Pakistan's Punjab, he said that though it appeared to be an unremarkable location comprising merely an old primary health centre, technical intelligence confirmed it had been a base for repeated terrorist infiltrations.

The precision strike neutralised a key node in the adversary's network, reflecting the effectiveness of a technology-led approach, the chief of defence staff said.

This paradigm shift in warfare requires rethinking traditional metrics of victory. Success is no longer solely defined by body counts or territorial gains, he said.

Instead, it is measured through strategic deterrence, operational sophistication and information dominance.

The army, navy, and air force have learnt many lessons from Operation Sindoor to ensure higher levels of preparedness and integration, Gen Chauhan said.

"As warfare continues to evolve, our armed forces are not just adapting; they are actively shaping the future battlespace. Victory today lies not only in decisive action, but in the ability to maintain superiority across all domains," he said.

He also noted that 'fauj' (military) is the only place where there is no nepotism.

"Merit is rewarded, and there is recognition of work. You (children) should aspire to join the armed forces if you want to serve the nation, and explore the country and the world," Gen Chauhan said.

He added that the armed forces made maximum efforts this year to rescue citizens amid a high number of natural calamities.