Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit has highlighted a paradigm shift in military doctrine, claiming that traditional geographical barriers are “almost meaningless” in the context of contemporary warfare due to precision-guided munitions like the BrahMos supersonic missile and Scalp cruise missile.
India’s recent Operation Sindoor, a four-day military conflict with Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror assault, is a major source of inspiration for this evaluation. During this conflict, India used sophisticated standoff weaponry including Scalp, Hammer, and BrahMos missiles.
The development of precision-guided, long-range munitions has fundamentally changed the connection between distance and vulnerability, stressed Air Marshal Dixit. Today’s technology allows strikes on targets hundreds of kilometers distant with precise accuracy, but in the past the horizon defined the immediate threat. Traditional ideas like front, rear, flanks, fighting zones, and depth areas are therefore no longer relevant. There is now only one large battlespace, with the lines between the front and the theater of conflict becoming increasingly hazy.
India used standoff weaponry to attack military and terrorist targets deep within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir during Operation Sindoor, which was initiated in the early hours of May 7, 2025. Targets ranged from 25 to 100 kilometers within Pakistani territory, and the operation included pinpoint strikes on nine terror camps as well as 13 Pakistani air bases and military installations. Without being limited by geographic distance, Indian forces were able to destroy important locations, such as the main offices of outlawed terrorist organizations like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, by using Scalp and BrahMos missiles.
The capability of these weapons to take down airfields located far within Pakistani territory, making any possible aerial response more difficult, further proved their efficacy. Indian drones also targeted targets as far away as Hyderabad and Peshawar, demonstrating the wide range made possible by contemporary standoff weapons.
Dixit emphasized that the necessity of deep monitoring capabilities is reinforced by the lessons learned from Operation Sindoor. Real-time or near-real-time monitoring is crucial for survival and operational success in a time when drone swarms and hypersonic missiles can reach their targets before conventional decision-making cycles can react. Previously seen as force boosters, surveillance and electro-optics are now essential components of military operations.
Drawing comparisons to international confrontations like Israel-Hamas, Russia-Ukraine, and Armenia-Azerbaijan, the officer pointed out that the side with the best situational awareness—”the side that sees first, sees farthest, and sees most accurately”—wins. Because of this new reality, the monitoring envelope must be expanded well beyond national boundaries in order to detect and track threats while they are still in staging sites located deep within enemy territory.
Scalp and BrahMos are examples of modern precision weapons that have completely changed how war is fought in India and around the world. These systems have compelled a reconsideration of military principles and tactics by undermining the protective value of geographic barriers. In addition to improving offensive capabilities, the experiences of Operation Sindoor show that investing in long-range precision munitions and sophisticated surveillance drastically changes the strategic calculus, rendering distance and conventional defensive depth much less important in modern conflicts.
