- Op Sindoor in May last marked a shift in the balance of air power in South Asia, says Swiss think tank
- There was a textbook suppression, destruction of enemy air defences by India, says the think tank
- The study highlights the performance of India's integrated air defence and command-and-control architecture
A new study by a respected Swiss military history and strategy think tank has concluded that India's Operation Sindoor in May last year marked a decisive shift in the balance of air power in South Asia, culminating in New Delhi achieving clear air superiority and compelling Pakistan to seek a ceasefire after four days of intense fighting.
The report, published by the Centre for Military History and Perspective Studies (CHPM) in Switzerland and authored by military historian Adrien Fontanellaz, offers one of the most comprehensive independent reconstructions so far of the 88-hour India-Pakistan air war from 7 to 10 May 2025.
While international headlines at the time focused narrowly on the loss of at least one Indian Rafale on the opening night, the Swiss analysis argues that this single episode obscured the far more significant operational outcome: India systematically broke Pakistan's air defence and strike capacity and ended the conflict on its own terms.
Operation Sindoor was launched after a deadly terrorist attack on tourists at picturesque Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, which New Delhi linked to Pakistan-based terrorist groups.
According to the report, Indian political leaders gave the armed forces wide latitude to plan a response that would be "sufficiently spectacular" to deter future attacks, even at the risk of escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
In the early hours of May 7, the Indian Air Force (IAF) struck high-value terrorist infrastructure, including headquarters and major camps linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Two key sites - Bahawalpur and Muridke - were hit with long-range precision weapons, with post-strike assessments confirming that multiple buildings were destroyed or severely damaged. The report notes that these strikes represented a qualitative leap from previous Indian responses, both in depth and in coordination between services.
Pakistan responded aggressively in the air.
The opening night saw one of the largest air engagements in decades, involving around 60 Indian aircraft and more than 40 Pakistani fighters across several sectors. Using long-range Chinese-supplied PL-15 air-to-air missiles and networked targeting supported by airborne early warning aircraft, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) managed to inflict losses on the IAF, including at least one Rafale, a Mirage 2000 and another fighter. The Swiss study describes this phase as a "serious tactical setback" for India in the information and perception domain, because it allowed Islamabad to claim an early victory and dominate headlines.
But the report's central argument is that this initial exchange did not decide the campaign. Instead, it triggered a rapid and far more consequential Indian counter-offensive. Over the following days, the IAF shifted focus to what the Swiss analysts call a textbook suppression and destruction of enemy air defences campaign.
Using a mix of standoff cruise missiles such as SCALP-EG and BrahMos, coordinated strikes, and pressure from multiple axes, Indian forces systematically degraded Pakistan's surface-to-air missile network and radar coverage.
Once this shield was weakened, India launched what the report terms a "spectacular" series of attacks on Pakistan's principal air bases. These strikes, carried out with precision-guided munitions and long-range weapons, hit runways, infrastructure and support facilities, sharply reducing the PAF's ability to sustain operations. In contrast to earlier crises, Pakistan was now facing direct, repeated blows to the core of its air power.
Crucially, the Swiss study highlights the performance of India's integrated air defence and command-and-control architecture, particularly the IACCCS network and its coordination with the Army's Akashteer system. These systems, combined with layered surface-to-air missile defences including Akash, Barak-8 and S-400, blunted Pakistani attempts at retaliation and emerged as "one of the surprises of the conflict" in terms of effectiveness.
By May 10, according to the report, the balance had clearly shifted.
With its air bases under sustained pressure and its air defence network degraded, Pakistan was no longer in a position to contest airspace effectively. India, having achieved de facto air superiority, was able to dictate the tempo and scope of operations. It was at this point, the Swiss analysts conclude, that Islamabad sought a ceasefire.
Beyond the immediate military outcome, the report argues that Operation Sindoor marks a turning point in India's strategic doctrine.
New Delhi has now made clear that future major terrorist attacks traced to Pakistan-based groups will be treated not as isolated acts by non-state actors, but as inseparable from the state structures that support them - implying faster, broader and more forceful conventional retaliation in the future.
In short, while the opening night of the conflict provided Pakistan with a fleeting tactical and propaganda success, the overall campaign, as seen through this independent Swiss assessment, ended with India demonstrating superior depth, resilience and escalation control.
Operation Sindoor, the report suggests, was not just a reprisal - it was a decisive assertion of air power that reshaped the strategic equation in the subcontinent.
