India's missile launch at Pakistan on the 7th in retaliation for a terrorist attack that occurred last month in Indian-administered Kashmir is raising concerns about the possibility of escalation into armed conflict. Interest is also focused on the weapon systems deployed by the two nuclear-armed countries. India uses weapons from the liberal camp, including Hanwha Aerospace's K9 self-propelled howitzers and French Rafale fighter jets, while Pakistan primarily uses Chinese weapons.
According to government announcements from India and Pakistan, the Indian government stated that it launched Operation Sindoor early the previous day, targeting nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir with missiles. The Pakistani government reported that 26 civilians, including children, were killed and 46 injured in the Indian military's attack. The Pakistani military stated it shot down five Indian fighter jets and a drone in response to India's attack. India reported that 10 people were killed and 48 injured in the Pakistani attack.
The Indian government stated that some of the Pakistani terrorist facilities targeted in the attacks are linked to the Islamic militant terror incident that took place on the 22nd in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir. In that gun attack, 26 people, including Hindu tourists, were killed. The Indian government identified the Pakistani government as the mastermind behind the terrorists and took various retaliatory measures, including blocking tributary rivers of the Indus River flowing into Pakistan. Both sides continue to engage in skirmishes along the Line of Control (LoC), which divides Kashmir into Indian-administered and Pakistan-administered areas.
Of the five fighter jets that Pakistan claims to have shot down, three were French Rafale jets, while the other two were older Russian-made Su-30 and MiG-29 fighters. India has been increasing imports of Western weapons to reduce its dependence on Russian weapons and military equipment as part of its military modernization efforts. The Rafale fighter jets are part of that initiative. Prior to this armed conflict, the Indian Air Force was operating 36 Rafale jets, and the Indian government recently signed a contract with Dassault, the manufacturer of the Rafale, to purchase an additional 26 units for naval use.
Pakistan primarily operates Chinese fighters. The recent skirmish has put the J-10C fighter, which Pakistan imported from China in 2021 and deployed to its air force the following year, to the test. The J-10C is a 4.5 generation fighter developed by China, and Pakistan is the first and only country to import the J-10C (25 units). China is promoting additional exports at a relatively low price of $40 million to $50 million per unit, comparing the J-10C's performance to that of the French Rafale and the U.S. F-16 Block 70.
Pakistan also operates the JF-17 fighter jointly developed with China. The JF-17 is the model that Malaysia lost to in the bidding competition to purchase 18 FA-50s from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in 2023.
The Pakistani army is reportedly concentrating its deployment of artillery units, including Chinese SH-15 self-propelled howitzers, in border regions to prepare for Indian attacks. Indian media assess that the performance of the Chinese SH-15 falls short of that of the K9 Vajra, which is the Indian version of the K9 self-propelled howitzer. India introduced 100 K9 units in a contract with Hanwha Aerospace in 2017. At that time, Hanwha Aerospace produced 10 finished goods in Korea for export, while the remaining 90 units were produced at local factories by India's partner company L&T (Larsen & Toubro) and delivered to the Indian army by 2020.
The K9 Vajra has demonstrated its performance advantage in terms of high hit rate and rapid reloading speed during the India-Pakistan border disputes in Kashmir in 2019. The K9 Vajra can fire 6 to 8 rounds per minute, while the Chinese SH-15 can fire 4 to 6 rounds per minute.
Hanwha Aerospace signed an additional export contract for K9 self-propelled howitzers worth 371.4 billion won with L&T earlier last month. Hanwha Aerospace will produce K9 components to export to L&T, which will assemble them locally into finished goods to supply the Indian army. The contract period is until September 2030, with Hanwha Aerospace receiving 15% of the total contract value as an advance payment. Earlier, Indian media reported that L&T signed a contract with the Ministry of National Defense to supply 100 K9 Vajra units. There is also a high possibility that Hanwha Aerospace will export additional K9 components.
In addition to the second export of K9 self-propelled howitzers, Hanwha Aerospace is also reported to have a high possibility of exporting air defense systems to India. A Hanwha Aerospace official said, “We are negotiating with the Indian side for the export of anti-aircraft guns and surface-to-air missile weapons systems for drone defense.”