Pakistan is currently looking for immediate solutions to protect itself from this sophisticated threat in the wake of Operation Sindoor, in which India allegedly launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to deadly effect against Pakistani airbases and military infrastructure.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly recognized that the missile had hit its airbases, highlighting the gravity of the threat presented by India’s precision strike capabilities, even though India has not formally confirmed the employment of BrahMos in the operation.
During the conflict, Pakistan’s air defense systems, which were supplied by China, especially the HQ-9 and HQ-16, failed to function as intended. According to reports, these systems were unable to stop Indian drones and missiles and the BrahMos, a supersonic cruise missile with a Mach 2.8–3 speed and a range of about 400 km in its most recent iterations. Islamabad is now searching for a more effective option outside of China, its longstanding defense ally, as a result of this operational failure.
Pakistan is currently thinking about purchasing Germany’s IRIS-T SLM air defense system, which was created by Diehl Defense. The performance of the IRIS-T SLM in Ukraine has drawn attention from across the world. It has successfully intercepted more than 60 approaching missiles, including the Russian P-800 Oniks, a missile that shares flight characteristics with the BrahMos.
The IRIS-T SLM system is a modular, medium-range, surface-launched missile platform that can engage in 360 degrees of space and has a range of around 40 kilometers. It is built to combat a range of aircraft threats, including supersonic cruise missiles, and has several launchers, an operations center, and sophisticated radar.
The effectiveness of the system was demonstrated in Ukraine, where it was said to have neutralized numerous cruise missiles in a single engagement and achieved an interception rate of about 99% in saturation attack scenarios. Pakistan, which urgently needs a reliable deterrent against India’s BrahMos, finds it to be an appealing alternative due to its track record.
However, increasing Indo-German defense collaboration complicates Pakistan’s pursuit of the IRIS-T SLM. The provider of Interactive Defence and Attack Systems (IDAS) for Indian Navy submarines and a strategic alliance with Reliance Defence to manufacture cutting-edge precision-guided munitions in India are just two of the significant projects Diehl Defence, the maker of IRIS-T, is currently working on with Indian partners. Pakistan may find it difficult to obtain the IRIS-T SLM system on a diplomatic and business level due to Germany and India’s growing defense ties.
Amidst tremendous economic difficulty, Pakistan has refocused on modern air defense. 16% of its people live in extreme poverty, while about 45% of them are below the poverty level. In spite of this, the government recently slashed overall spending by 7%, eliminated development projects valued at around 1,000 billion Pakistani Rupees, and raised defense spending by 20%. Prioritizing defense comes after obtaining a $1 billion loan from the IMF and $800 million from the Asian Development Bank.
A strategic move away from Chinese systems and toward cutting-edge Western technology has resulted from Operation Sindoor and the deployment of BrahMos missiles, which have shown serious weaknesses in Pakistan’s air defense system. Germany’s growing defense connections with India and Pakistan’s own budgetary limitations make it doubtful whether Pakistan will be able to acquire the German IRIS-T SLM system, despite the fact that it has proven effective against comparable threats. The circumstance highlights how South Asia’s security landscape is changing and how modern missile technology has a big influence on regional military alliances and strategy.
