South Asia’s security environment has again entered a phase of heightened tension following a deadly attack targeting tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, on 22 April. This attack triggered a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations between the nuclear powers, which was promptly followed with each country’s militaries going into full alert.
On 28 April, Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, told Reuters that the Pakistani military was expecting an “imminent” incursion by Indian forces.
These flare ups are not new; rather, this episode is another iteration of the long-standing Kashmir conflict. This conflict showcases a uniquely intense and accelerating arms race, one that may – if it has not already – outpaced the procurement trends of every region except for East Asia.
For example, India already implemented this strategy when developing SAMs before 2019 via the off-the-shelf acquisition of Barak-1 SAMs from Israel while also collaborating with the latter on the Barak-8 program, which fed into India’s MR-SAM and LR-SAM programs.
Likewise, in tandem with the off-the-shelf purchase of 36 Rafales for the IAF (and 26 Rafale M for the Indian Navy), major agreements were signed with Dassault, Safran Group, and Thales. These partnerships are poised to support the Tejas, Prachand, Vajra, and others.
India’s homegrown platforms are world-class designs and are built to industry standards one can expect from Western or East Asian (e.g., South Korean) OEMs. Once inducted in numbers, these platforms will give the Indian military high-caliber solutions at scale. However, the impact of these systems will fully materialize through the long-term, not in this current crisis.
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