What is air defence grid used by the Indian Army to protect Golden Temple from Pakistan's attack?
A senior army officer on Monday said that the Pakistan Army attempted to target the Golden Temple in Amritsar on the night of May 7-8.
A senior Indian Army officer on Monday confirmed that Pakistan attempted to target the Golden Temple in Amritsar on the intervening night of May 7-8 after Indian forces took down terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) with precision strikes. Pakistan's failed strike, which included drones and long-range missiles, was intercepted by the Indian military's elaborate air defence grid. What is it?
According to the Army, the Golden Temple was one of the primary targets in what officials are calling a "massive air assault" launched by Pakistan in the early hours of May 8.
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“Knowing that the Pakistan Army does not have any legitimate targets, we anticipated it would target Indian military installations and civilian areas, including religious places. Of these, the Golden Temple appeared to be the most prominent (target). We also received credible intelligence that it was a prime target, which we had brainstormed earlier,” Major General Kartik C Seshadri, who is commanding an infantry division in Amritsar, told ANI.
What are some munitions used by India to save the Golden Temple
The Indian Army's Air defence systems played a critical role in repelling Pakistan's misadventures.
The Army on Monday showcased a demonstration of how Indian Air Defence systems, including the AKASH missile system, L-70 Air Defence Guns, saved the Golden Temple in Amritsar and cities of Punjab from Pakistan's missile and drone attacks.
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“In the hours of darkness, Pakistan carried out a massive air assault with drones and long-range missiles. We were fully prepared since we had anticipated this. Our alert army air defence gunners thwarted Pakistan Army’s nefarious designs and shot down all drones and missiles targeted at the Golden Temple. Thus, not allowing even a scratch to our holy Golden Temple,” Seshadri added.
AKASH Missile System
As per Bharat Electronics Ltd, the Akash air defence missile system is a medium range, surface-to-air missile system which provides area air defence against multifarious air threats to mobile, semi-mobile and static vulnerable forces and areas. The system has cutting-edge features with cross-country mobility.
The real-time multi-sensor data processing and threat evaluation enable simultaneous engagement of multiple targets from any direction. The entire system is flexible, upscalable and can be operated in group and autonomous modes. It employs command guidance and relies on phased array guidance radar to guide the missile till intercept, it added.
L-70 Air Defence Guns
L-70 air defence guns were also deployed by the Indian Army around the Golden Temple. It includes an integrated Fire Control System with Optronic Sight Consisting of Eye Safe LRF, DLTV and TI, autonomous ballistic computation with round-to-round correction for muzzle velocity and TILT with TC/FC radars.
What other weapons does the Indian air defence system include?
On May 7, Islamabad launched aerial attacks using drones and missiles at multiple towns and cities in India, including Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Pathankot, Phalodi, Uttarlai, Nal and Bhuj.
India’s AD systems, combining the assets of the IAF, army, and navy, performed with exceptional synergy, fended off all the attacks.
India’s AD grid operated with multiple weapons across four levels, depending on the distance of the incoming target.
The weapons that formed part of the grid included the S-400 system, medium-range surface-to-air missile system (Barak 8), the Pechora air defence system, Spyder quick-reaction missiles, and upgraded L-70 and Zu-23-2B guns.
Operation Sindoor
The attack by Pakistan on India came in the wake of Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliatory offensive on nine targeted terror camps deep inside Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that claimed 26 lives.
Operation Sindoor struck key terrorist hubs like Muridke (Lashkar-e-Taiba HQ) and Bahawalpur (Jaish-e-Mohammed HQ) with surgical precision and killed more than 100 terrorists in the strikes.
