India’s air superiority during Operation Sindoor made Pakistan call for truce: European think-tank

NEW DELHI: India’s air superiority during its “88-hour Operation Sindoor coerced Pakistan into a ceasefire” during the May 7-10, 2025 conflict, according to a detailed European military analysis.

The report, titled ‘Operation Sindoor: The India-Pakistan Air War (7–10 May 2025)’, has been authored by Adrien Fontanellaz and was published last week by the Centre d’Histoire et de Prospective Militaires (CHPM), an independent Swiss military history and strategic studies institution based in Switzerland. Founded in 1969, CHPM is not affiliated with any govt and positions itself as a neutral forum for professional military research.




Referring to last year’s Indo-Pak conflict, the report said, “This (May 2025) clash between the Pakistan and Indian air forces initially saw the former achieve a clear tactical victory by shooting down several enemy fighters, then largely fail in its conduct of strikes over Indian territory, as those were countered by an integrated air defence system whose effectiveness was one of the surprises of the conflict. Conversely, the Indian Air Force managed to significantly degrade the enemy's air defence system, then concluded the conflict by carrying out a series of spectacular strikes against Pakistan’s principal Air Force stations. Thus, by achieving clear air superiority, India coerced Islamabad into requesting a ceasefire.”

Though the Indian govt never admitted losing any fighter aircraft, including Rafale, in the conflict, the report said, “The loss of at least one Indian Rafale fighter jet on the night of 7 May 2025, can be seen as the tip of the iceberg as this event, above all, made a strong impression in the West and attracted significant media attention. However, this sequence saw a large-scale confrontation between two competent air forces, equipped with small fleets of state-of-the-art aircraft designs, such as the J10C and the Rafale, supported by substantial fleets of fourth-generation combat aircraft as well as sophisticated integrated air defence networks and force multipliers.”

On the escalation of war, the report stated, “On the strategic plane, Operation Sindoor has led to conventional military clashes of considerable magnitude between two de facto nuclear-weapon states with differing doctrines regarding the use of nuclear weapons, which made the situation very tricky to handle, with a high risk of escalation and potentially catastrophic consequences.”

“This episode provides valuable lessons on the tactical and operational plans, particularly because it illustrates the strong interpenetration between the military and communication lines of operation, as well as a paradigm that has been consistently confirmed over the years, namely the crucial role of long-range strikes,” the report further added.