Explained | India-Paksitan conflict: How air defence systems work

The aftermath of Operation Sindoor saw Pakistan resort to heavy shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) and hurtling a barrage of missiles and drones towards Indian cities, which were intercepted by Indian air defence systems.

The past four days saw an intense escalation in conflict between India and Pakistan. The latter resorted to heavy shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) and hurled a barrage of missiles and drones towards Indian cities.

As border towns in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Punjab remained under the cover of darkness, vivid streaks of red and white light dominated the skies, causing fear among the citizens.

With blackouts imposed across many cities and the Indian Armed Forces' air defence system in action, the country was able to thwart Pakistan's attack and neutralise the incoming threats.

Air defence systems, designed to prevent the enemy from dominating the skies during conflict, have become a cornerstone of territorial defence.

So how do these air defence systems work?

According to a report by the Indian Express, the functioning of an air defence system can be divided the following: detection and tracking, and interception.

Detection and tracking

An air defence system isn't just used for detecting an incoming threat; it also has the ability to constantly track aerial movement.

Equipped with radar, infrared cameras, or laser rangefinders, air defence systems can track multiple fast-paced threats simultaneously.

However, an air defence system usually doesn't track a single threat at one point in time. More often than not, a barrage of aerial threats is hurled at the enemy in one fell swoop. Thus, the system also shoulders the responsibility of tracking and identifying only enemy threats in this clustered environment, making sure to leave the friendlies out of their radar.

Interception

After detection and tracking, the threat needs to be eliminated or, as they say, neutralised. From here on, the air defence system works according to the specifics of the threat.

But the common denominator of all threats is the identification of the range, type, and speed of any aerial movement. Accordingly, the system then decides the 'best course of action' on how to eliminate the threat.

However, all these aspects have to work together in congruence in order to succeed. In military jargon, this is called ‘C3’ or “command, control, and communication” system.

Interception takes three primary forms:

Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs): In today's day and age, surface-to-air missiles are of the utmost importance. They don't endanger the life of a pilot and are faster than anti-aircraft artillery (AAA).

They are fired from a ground position to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft or missiles.

Fighter aircraft

Fighter aircraft are capable of taking on enemy aircraft in combat. A fighter aircraft is equipped for air-to-air combat with cannons, rockets, a suite of visual-range and beyond-visual-range missiles, and electronic warfare systems.

Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA)

Prior to the introduction of SAMs, anti-aircraft artillery was a gamechanger in aerial warfare. These systems are based on the ground and are equipped with fire-control systems.