Published May 8, 2025
ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Thursday that 12 Indian drones were neutralised overnight at various locations across Pakistan amid escalating military activity with the neighbouring country. — DawnNews TV
This photo — displayed during an ISPR press briefing on May 8, 2025 — shows part of an Israel-made drone sent by India into Pakistan’s territory that was downed by the armed forces, in an undisclosed location. — screengrab via DawnNewsTV
Pakistan’s armed forces have taken down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones sent into the country by India since last night, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.
A day earlier, Pakistan mourned the loss of 31 lives in overnight attacks by Indian forces on civilians, describing New Delhi’s actions as “terrorism” and accusing it of continuous ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC).
The Pakistan military termed the downing of five Indian fighter jets as a major victory — and it was seemingly acknowledged when Indian officials admitted that at least three of their aircraft had “crashed” within their territory.
On Wednesday, as both countries continued to trade heavy artillery fire, authorities revealed the extent of the damage caused by Indian strikes at six locations — Ahmedpur East, Muridke, Sialkot and Shakkargarh in Punjab and Muzaffarabad and Kotli in Azad Kashmir.
“The Pakistan Army, using their soft-kill (technical) and hard-kill (weapons) skills fully, have shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones,” the ISPR said in a press release today.
Referring to Pakistan’s response to Indian strikes, the ISPR press release said: “After the destruction of its five modern jets, drones and several posts, as well as soldier deaths, India is attacking Pakistan using these Israeli-made Harop drones in panic.”
“This cowardly attack is a sign of India’s worry and panic,” the statement added.
“The debris of these Israeli-made Harop drones is being collected from various locations across Pakistan,” the military’s media wing said. It asserted that the Pakistan Army was “giving a befitting reply to the enemy and crushing all its nefarious designs”.
Meanwhile, the Indian defence ministry admitted that its armed forces targeted a number of locations in Pakistan in the morning today. Indian outlet ANI News reported that Harpy drones were used by the Indian military to target Pakistan’s “air defence system”. According to the Database of Israeli Military and Security Export, the Harop is a “later development of the Harpy”.
The ministry’s statement also alleged that Pakistan had “increased the intensity” of firing at the LoC, where the two countries’ troops have been exchanging fire for the past several days.
“The Harpy is designed to attack radar systems and is optimised for the suppression of enemy air defences (Sead) role. It carries a high explosive warhead,” the ANI report read.
In a press briefing early today, ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan’s forces had neutralised 12 drones sent by India since last night. He also stated that four army personnel were injured as one drone, besides those downed, managed to engage a military target partially.
The ISPR DG detailed the locations where 12 of those drones sent by India were neutralised — Lahore, Attock, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Rawalpindi and Bahawalpur in Punjab, as well as Sukkur’s Miano, Umerkot’s Chhor and near Karachi in Sindh.
“Other than these 12, one drone, however, managed to engage a military target near Lahore partially,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said.
“Four men of the Pakistan Army have been injured in this attack near Lahore and partial damage to an equipment has occurred,” he said.
The DG ISPR further said that as a result of India’s drone activity, one civilian embraced martyrdom and another was injured in Miano.
During the press briefing, the military’s media spokesman also showed a series of pictures showing the debris of the drones. He added that the debris and downed drones were being collected from multiple locations.
“As we speak, the process of India sending across these Harop drones, this naked aggression continues, and the armed forces are on high degree of alert and neutralising them as we speak,” he continued.
“This is a serious, serious provocation,” the DG ISPR said.
“The Indians have resorted to these measures after] having miserably failed on the night of May 6 and 7, when they attacked places of worship and civilian infrastructure and killed innocent civilians, including children, women and [the] elderly,” he continued.
He further said: “Not only that, having faced the destruction of five of their aircraft, multiple drones, and suffering heavy casualties along LoC and damage, it appears that India has apparently lost the plot.
“And rather than going on a path of rationality, it is further escalating in a highly charged environment to satisfy the hubristic mindset of the Indian government,” Lt Gen Chaudhry asserted.
“The international community can visibly see the path that India is treading through this extremely provocative military aggression in a region, which is highly fragile and putting the security of the region and beyond at risk,” he said.
The DG ISPR added that the Pakistan armed forces remain “fully vigilant to any type of threat”. He then repeated the details of the Indian drones downed in Urdu.
Pakistan’s armed forces have taken down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones sent into the country by India since last night, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.
A day earlier, Pakistan mourned the loss of 31 lives in overnight attacks by Indian forces on civilians, describing New Delhi’s actions as “terrorism” and accusing it of continuous ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC).
The Pakistan military termed the downing of five Indian fighter jets as a major victory — and it was seemingly acknowledged when Indian officials admitted that at least three of their aircraft had “crashed” within their territory.
On Wednesday, as both countries continued to trade heavy artillery fire, authorities revealed the extent of the damage caused by Indian strikes at six locations — Ahmedpur East, Muridke, Sialkot and Shakkargarh in Punjab and Muzaffarabad and Kotli in Azad Kashmir.
“The Pakistan Army, using their soft-kill (technical) and hard-kill (weapons) skills fully, have shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones,” the ISPR said in a press release today.
Referring to Pakistan’s response to Indian strikes, the ISPR press release said: “After the destruction of its five modern jets, drones and several posts, as well as soldier deaths, India is attacking Pakistan using these Israeli-made Harop drones in panic.”
“This cowardly attack is a sign of India’s worry and panic,” the statement added.
“The debris of these Israeli-made Harop drones is being collected from various locations across Pakistan,” the military’s media wing said. It asserted that the Pakistan Army was “giving a befitting reply to the enemy and crushing all its nefarious designs”.
Meanwhile, the Indian defence ministry admitted that its armed forces targeted a number of locations in Pakistan in the morning today. Indian outlet ANI News reported that Harpy drones were used by the Indian military to target Pakistan’s “air defence system”. According to the Database of Israeli Military and Security Export, the Harop is a “later development of the Harpy”.
The ministry’s statement also alleged that Pakistan had “increased the intensity” of firing at the LoC, where the two countries’ troops have been exchanging fire for the past several days.
“The Harpy is designed to attack radar systems and is optimised for the suppression of enemy air defences (Sead) role. It carries a high explosive warhead,” the ANI report read.
In a press briefing early today, ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan’s forces had neutralised 12 drones sent by India since last night. He also stated that four army personnel were injured as one drone, besides those downed, managed to engage a military target partially.
The ISPR DG detailed the locations where 12 of those drones sent by India were neutralised — Lahore, Attock, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Rawalpindi and Bahawalpur in Punjab, as well as Sukkur’s Miano, Umerkot’s Chhor and near Karachi in Sindh.
“Other than these 12, one drone, however, managed to engage a military target near Lahore partially,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said.
“Four men of the Pakistan Army have been injured in this attack near Lahore and partial damage to an equipment has occurred,” he said.
The DG ISPR further said that as a result of India’s drone activity, one civilian embraced martyrdom and another was injured in Miano.
During the press briefing, the military’s media spokesman also showed a series of pictures showing the debris of the drones. He added that the debris and downed drones were being collected from multiple locations.
“As we speak, the process of India sending across these Harop drones, this naked aggression continues, and the armed forces are on high degree of alert and neutralising them as we speak,” he continued.
“This is a serious, serious provocation,” the DG ISPR said.
“The Indians have resorted to these measures after] having miserably failed on the night of May 6 and 7, when they attacked places of worship and civilian infrastructure and killed innocent civilians, including children, women and [the] elderly,” he continued.
He further said: “Not only that, having faced the destruction of five of their aircraft, multiple drones, and suffering heavy casualties along LoC and damage, it appears that India has apparently lost the plot.
“And rather than going on a path of rationality, it is further escalating in a highly charged environment to satisfy the hubristic mindset of the Indian government,” Lt Gen Chaudhry asserted.
“The international community can visibly see the path that India is treading through this extremely provocative military aggression in a region, which is highly fragile and putting the security of the region and beyond at risk,” he said.
The DG ISPR added that the Pakistan armed forces remain “fully vigilant to any type of threat”. He then repeated the details of the Indian drones downed in Urdu.
All you need to know about Israel-made Harop drones used by India in Pakistan
Over the last decade, India has imported military hardware worth $2.9 billion from Israel, including radars, surveillance and combat drones, and missiles.
Published May 8, 2025
The Pakistani military on Thursday said it took down nearly two dozen Indian drones sent on this side of the border since last night, as tensions between the neighbouring countries continue to rise.
According to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the armed forces shot down 25 Harop drones sent by India using their “soft-kill (technical) and hard-kill (weaponised) skills fully”.
In a press conference earlier today, DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the drones were neutralised at various locations, including Karachi and Lahore. He also showed a series of pictures showing the debris of the drones.
He said that the process of India sending across these Harop drones was a “serious serious provocation”. “This naked aggression continues, and the armed forces are on a high degree of alert and neutralising them as we speak,” Gen Chaudhry asserted.
Harop drone is a loitering munition system developed by the MBT Missiles Division of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
As per information available on the IAI website, loitering munitions are designed to hover over the battlefield and attack upon the operator’s commands. The Harop is particularly known for its ability to hunt down enemy air defenses and other important targets. It combines the characteristics of a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and a missile, which is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight.
The drone can operate both fully autonomously or be manually operated in its human-in-the-loop mode. If a target is not engaged, the drone can return and land itself back at base. Harop, with its folding wings, can be launched from a truck- or ship-mounted canister, or configured for air-launch.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Dr Fahad Irfan Siddiqui, associate professor at Jamshoro’s Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, explained that Harop was a military grade technology drone. It was used for several purposes, including data collection and payload-installed attacks.
“Agri and civil survey drones have jammers installed in them, which get disconnected from their base station by blocking UHF frequencies. But for military grade drones, they are operated through satellites. It is difficult to block their radio frequency. An extremely advanced military technology can be blocked satellite by satellite (it is debatable, though),” he said.
Dr Siddiqui highlighted that the drones we were hearing of in headlines seemed to be quadcopter-type, which were difficult to detect but were not lethal.
“According to international law, any drone weighing more than 250 grams requires a license from the respective country’s civil aviation authority. Drones weighing less are generally considered toy drones and are often used for recreational purposes such as photography; these typically do not require a license,” he elaborated.
“Drones over 250 grams are subject to stricter regulations. They are prohibited from flying within a five-kilometre radius of sensitive military installations, airports, and certain government buildings — these areas are designated as no-fly zones. Moreover, the same five-kilometre buffer zone rule applies near international borders,” the professor added.
Under the International Humanitarian Law, targeting civilian sites, as India did in Pakistan, is a grave violation. The increasing use of loitering munitions and other advanced weapon systems in recent years has spurred international discussions on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS). While a universally agreed-upon definition of LAWS remains elusive, they are generally understood as weapons that can select and attack targets without direct human intervention.
Loitering munitions, especially those with autonomous capabilities like the Harop, could potentially be classified as LAWS, raising significant questions about their compliance with IHL principles.
Over the last decade, India imported military hardware worth $2.9 billion from Israel, including radars, surveillance and combat drones, and missiles, TRT Global reported.
Earlier, in 2016 and 2020, the Harop was extensively used by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict against Armenia, per information available on the Israeli military and security export database. The attack drone supposedly hit a bus full of soldiers, killing half a dozen of them in the process, and destroying the bus.
In recent years, the drone has become an export success, with India and Azerbaijan purchasing the system. The drones were also reportedly used in Syrian conflicts, credited with the destruction of a Syrian Air Defence SA-22 Greyhound in 2018 and in an attack on the Syrian Armed Forces in December 2024. There are also indications that Turkiye may have been an early adopter of the Harop, potentially using it as early as 2005.
Header image: Picture of the Harop Long Range Loitering Munition. — Israel Aerospace Industries
The Pakistani military on Thursday said it took down nearly two dozen Indian drones sent on this side of the border since last night, as tensions between the neighbouring countries continue to rise.
According to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the armed forces shot down 25 Harop drones sent by India using their “soft-kill (technical) and hard-kill (weaponised) skills fully”.
In a press conference earlier today, DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the drones were neutralised at various locations, including Karachi and Lahore. He also showed a series of pictures showing the debris of the drones.
He said that the process of India sending across these Harop drones was a “serious serious provocation”. “This naked aggression continues, and the armed forces are on a high degree of alert and neutralising them as we speak,” Gen Chaudhry asserted.
Harop drone is a loitering munition system developed by the MBT Missiles Division of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
As per information available on the IAI website, loitering munitions are designed to hover over the battlefield and attack upon the operator’s commands. The Harop is particularly known for its ability to hunt down enemy air defenses and other important targets. It combines the characteristics of a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and a missile, which is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight.
The drone can operate both fully autonomously or be manually operated in its human-in-the-loop mode. If a target is not engaged, the drone can return and land itself back at base. Harop, with its folding wings, can be launched from a truck- or ship-mounted canister, or configured for air-launch.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Dr Fahad Irfan Siddiqui, associate professor at Jamshoro’s Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, explained that Harop was a military grade technology drone. It was used for several purposes, including data collection and payload-installed attacks.
“Agri and civil survey drones have jammers installed in them, which get disconnected from their base station by blocking UHF frequencies. But for military grade drones, they are operated through satellites. It is difficult to block their radio frequency. An extremely advanced military technology can be blocked satellite by satellite (it is debatable, though),” he said.
Dr Siddiqui highlighted that the drones we were hearing of in headlines seemed to be quadcopter-type, which were difficult to detect but were not lethal.
“According to international law, any drone weighing more than 250 grams requires a license from the respective country’s civil aviation authority. Drones weighing less are generally considered toy drones and are often used for recreational purposes such as photography; these typically do not require a license,” he elaborated.
“Drones over 250 grams are subject to stricter regulations. They are prohibited from flying within a five-kilometre radius of sensitive military installations, airports, and certain government buildings — these areas are designated as no-fly zones. Moreover, the same five-kilometre buffer zone rule applies near international borders,” the professor added.
Under the International Humanitarian Law, targeting civilian sites, as India did in Pakistan, is a grave violation. The increasing use of loitering munitions and other advanced weapon systems in recent years has spurred international discussions on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS). While a universally agreed-upon definition of LAWS remains elusive, they are generally understood as weapons that can select and attack targets without direct human intervention.
Loitering munitions, especially those with autonomous capabilities like the Harop, could potentially be classified as LAWS, raising significant questions about their compliance with IHL principles.
Over the last decade, India imported military hardware worth $2.9 billion from Israel, including radars, surveillance and combat drones, and missiles, TRT Global reported.
Earlier, in 2016 and 2020, the Harop was extensively used by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict against Armenia, per information available on the Israeli military and security export database. The attack drone supposedly hit a bus full of soldiers, killing half a dozen of them in the process, and destroying the bus.
In recent years, the drone has become an export success, with India and Azerbaijan purchasing the system. The drones were also reportedly used in Syrian conflicts, credited with the destruction of a Syrian Air Defence SA-22 Greyhound in 2018 and in an attack on the Syrian Armed Forces in December 2024. There are also indications that Turkiye may have been an early adopter of the Harop, potentially using it as early as 2005.
Header image: Picture of the Harop Long Range Loitering Munition. — Israel Aerospace Industries
No comments:
Post a Comment