Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Pakistani Prosthetics Startup Aiding Gaza's Child Amputees

While the Israeli weapons supplied by the "civilized" West are destroying the lives and limbs of thousands of Gaza's innocent children, a Pakistani startup is trying to provide them with free custom-made prostheses, according to media reports. The Karachi-based startup Bioniks was founded in 2016 and has sold prosthetics that use AI and 3D scanning for custom designs. 

Gaza's Child Amputee Sidra Al Bordini with Bioniks CEO Anaz Niaz. Source: Instagram


Bioniks has recently delivered its first prosthetics made for Gaza's children using remote imaging to design custom arms at low cost.  The demand for such prosthetics is high because, according to the United Nations, Gaza has 4500 new amputees since October 7, 2023 Hamas attack which triggered Israel's brutal response and started the ongoing genocide in Gaza. 

A recent Reuters story cites the examples of two girls,  three-year-old Habebat Alla and 8 year-old Sidra Al Bordini, who recently received artificial limbs made by Bioniks. Both were severely injured in Israeli air strikes. Sidra and Habebat Allah, who lost both her arms and a leg in Gaza, went through days of remote consultations and virtual fittings. Then Niaz flew from Karachi to Amman, Jordan to meet the girls and make his company's first overseas delivery. children need lighter limbs and replacements every 12–18 months as they grow.  Niaz said the company was exploring funding options for Sidra and Habebat's future replacements, adding the cost wouldn't be too high.

The company used a smartphone app to take pictures from different angles and created a 3D model to print custom prosthetics. Bioniks CEO Anas Niaz said the social enterprise startup had fit more than 1,000 custom-designed arms inside Pakistan since 2021 - funded through a mix of patient payments, corporate sponsorship, and donations - but this was its first time providing prosthetics to those impacted in conflict, according to Reuters

Here's how the company describes itself on its website: "At Bioniks, we believe in turning disabilities into possibilities. Founded with a mission to empower individuals with disabilities, we are pioneers in advanced prosthetics and assistive technologies in Pakistan. Our innovative solutions are designed to restore mobility, independence, and dignity to those who need it most. Bioniks revolutionizes the field of healthcare through advanced-level prosthesis and surgical planning tools that are created using state of the art technologies and designing techniques. We at Bioniks aim to provide healthcare solutions that bring measurable value to those who use it and are shaped keeping their precise needs in mind."

Earlier this year, the startup was recognized for contributions to advancing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, placing it among the world’s most “impactful and scalable” technology. It is the first Pakistani company to win the Zero Project Award, according to media reports

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Saturday, July 5, 2025

Indian Military Begins to Accept Its Losses in "Operation Sindoor" Against Pakistan

The Indian military leadership is finally beginning to slowly accept its losses in its unprovoked attack on Pakistan that it called "Operation Sindoor". It began with the May 31 Bloomberg interview of the Indian Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan in Singapore where he admitted losing Indian fighter aircraft to Pakistan in an aerial battle on May 7, 2025.  General Chauhan further revealed that the Indian Air Force was grounded for two days after this loss. 


General Chauhan was followed by Navy Captain Shiv Kumar, the Indian Defense Attache in Jakarta, Indonesia, who explained last month that the Indian Air Force losses occurred due to "constraint by (the Indian) political leadership" imposed on the Indian Air Force. He said the Indian forces had been directed not to target Pakistan’s military infrastructure or air defenses. “Only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defenses,” he said, explaining why the IAF suffered the loss of fighter jets. 

Yesterday, Lieutenant General Rahul Singh, India's Deputy Chief of the Army, blamed the losses on Chinese help for Pakistan. He said India faced three enemies: Pakistan, China and Turkey based on the equipment used by Pakistan in the latest round. By this logic, Pakistan faced four or more enemies: India and its arms suppliers France, Israel and Russia whose equipment was used by the Indian military in Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. 

General Singh said the Pakistanis were closely watching the Indian military's moves in real time. “When the DGMO-level talks were going on, Pakistan actually was mentioning that ‘we know that your such and such important vector is primed and ready for action. I would request you to perhaps pull it back’. So he was getting live inputs … from China,” he added. 

Using a homegrown datalink (Link-17) communication system, Pakistan has integrated its ground radars and satellite links with a variety of fighter jets and airborne early warning aircraft (Swedish Erieye AWACS) to achieve high level of  situational awareness in the battlefield, according to experts familiar with the technology developed and deployed by the Pakistan Air Force. This integration allows quick execution of a "kill chain" to target and destroy enemy assets, according to experts. This capability was demonstrated recently in the India-Pakistan aerial battle of May 7-8 that resulted in the downing of several Indian fighter jets, including the French-made Rafale.  

In an earlier statement, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told Newsweek:  “I was in the room when the US vice president spoke to Prime Minister Modi on the night of May 9, warning that the Pakistanis would launch a very massive assault on India if we did not accept certain things". “That night, Pakistan did launch a large-scale attack,” Jaishankar said. India sought and accepted the ceasefire immediately after the "large-scale attack" launched by Pakistan. 

These statements by the Indian military brass lead to only one conclusion: Not only is there an implicit admission of India's failed "Operation Sindoor", but also a litany of lame excuses for the losses incurred by the Indian military. The fact is that the Indian leadership clearly underestimated Pakistan's capacity for a strong military and diplomatic response to the Indian provocation labeled "Operation Sindoor".  New Delhi was caught unprepared for it. 

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Friday, June 27, 2025

Trump Administration Seeks Pakistan's Help For Promoting “Durable Peace Between Israel and Iran”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss promoting “a durable peace between Israel and Iran,” the State Department said in a statement, according to Reuters.  Both leaders "agreed to continue working together to strengthen Pakistan-US relations, particularly to increase trade", said a statement released by the Pakistan government.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

The call came after Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire to end what President Donald Trump described as a "12-day war". It is yet another indication of Pakistan's close ties with both Tehran and Washington. Pakistan strongly condemned Israel's "unprovoked attack" and the US bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities. It also  shows Washington’s growing engagement with Islamabad at a time when the Trump administration is exploring a new diplomatic initiative with Tehran, possibly “as early as next week”. President Trump met Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House last week where they discussed Iran, which Trump said Pakistan knew about better than most other countries. 

Earlier in May this year, President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary Rubio arranged India-Pakistan ceasefire after 4 days of fighting between the two South Asian neighbors. Testifying before the US Congress earlier this month, the US Central Command Chief General Michael Kurilla described Pakistan as a “phenomenal partner in the counterterrorism world”. This statement coincided with the Washington visit of the Indian parliamentary delegation led by Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor's delegation's aim was to "isolate Pakistan" after the Pahalgam militant attack in Kashmir which India blamed on Pakistan without presenting any evidence. 

Pakistan also enjoys close ties with China and Russia. China-Pakistan friendship has meant significant diplomatic support and massive investment in infrastructure, as well as the state-of-the-art military hardware for the country's armed forces. Russia, too, has drawn closer to Pakistan. It has recently agreed to invest in a modern steel plant in Karachi where an abandoned Soviet-era steel mill stands today. 

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Defense Ministers

At a recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Defense Ministers meeting in China, nine member countries(China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus)  rejected India's attempt to insert a reference to Pahalgam in the joint statement.  Earlier, India distanced itself from SCO's joint condemnation of Israel’s attacks on Iran. India also abstained from voting on a UN resolution regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict, specifically related to the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This decision continues India's pattern of abstaining on resolutions criticizing Israel. 

While India claims the mantle of the "Global South" leadership, its actions do not align with its ambition. On the other hand, Pakistan's policies and actions are much more aligned with those of the BRICS nations. Pakistan is not currently a member of the BRICS yet, but both China and Russia have publicly expressed support for its inclusion as a full member. 

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

South Asia Investor Review

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Has Modi Succeeded Diplomatically or Militarily Against Pakistan After Pahalgam?

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Prof Mearsheimer on International Geopolitics in South Asia

Pakistan Navy Modernization

West's Technological Edge in Geopolitical Competition

Modi's India: A Paper Elephant?

Pahalgam Attack: Why is the Indian Media Not Asking Hard Questions?

Ukraine's Lesson For Pakistan: Never Give Up Nukes!

Pakistan Economy Nears Trillion Dollars

Pakistan's Sea-Based Second Strike Capability

Riaz Haq Youtube Channel

VPOS Youtube Channel

Friday, June 20, 2025

Pakistani-American Entrepreneur's AI Startup Commands $18 Billion Valuation

Anysphere, founded in 2022 by Sualeh Asif, Arvid Lunnemark, Aman Sanger and Michael Truell, has been approached by investors about a deal that would more than double its valuation in a new funding round to $18 to $20 billion, according to BloombergSualeh Asif, 25, the Chief Product Officer and co-founder, hails from Karachi, Pakistan.  He studied at Nixor College in Karachi before going to the United States in 2018. He met the other three co-founders while studying at the Massachusetts  Institute of Technology (MIT). One-half (Sualeh Asif and Aman Sanger) of the startup’s founding team is of South Asian origin. The company moved to San Francisco soon after its founding in 2022. 

Sualeh Asif, Anyshphere Inc's Pakistani-American Founder


Anysphere’s lead product is an AI code editor called Cursor AI.  It works as an AI assistant that writes code and also anticipates code developer's needs, identifies inefficiencies, and helps solve complex problems with relative ease. On his personal website sualehasif.me, Sualeh says: "I’m building Cursor to discover a new way to write code. I owe much of my fun to my friends and MIT. I am extremely excited about the new capabilities of LLMs and applications to code tools". 

In early 2024, Anysphere raised $60 million in a Series A financing (co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital and included Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe) at a $400 million post-money valuation, according to TechCrunch. It was followed by a $105 million Series B funding round in December 2024. Earlier this month, Anysphere said it raised $900 million at a valuation of $9.9 billion, including the new investment, in a round led by Thrive Capital. Andreessen Horowitz, Accel and DST Global also participated. 

Several investors have recently floated a funding offer that would value Anysphere at $18 billion to $20 billion, according to Bloomberg.  The startup's revenue has recently surpassed $500 million on an annualized basis. 

“We have not engaged with or spoken with any investors about financing since our Series C,” Chief Executive Officer Michael Truell wrote to Bloomberg in response to a query. “We’re not focused on fundraising and have lots to do on building the technology, product, and team. Cursor can be made much more useful, and we’re spending time on that.”


Saturday, June 14, 2025

Clean Energy Revolution: Soaring Solar Energy Battery Storage in Pakistan

Pakistan imported an estimated 1.25 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of lithium-ion battery packs in 2024 and another 400 megawatt-hours (MWh) in the first two months of 2025, according to a research report by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The report projects these imports to reach 8.75 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by 2030. Using 5.2 hours per day of peak sunlight translates into 1,898 hours per year. It means that each gigawatt of installed solar capacity can produce up to 1.8 terawatt-hours of electricity in a year, and each gigawatt-hour of battery capacity can store up to 1.8 terawatt-hours of electricity over a year. Currently, Pakistanis consume about 110 terawatt-hours of energy from the grid in a year.  

Battery Storage Growth in Pakistan. Source: IEEFA

Chinese battery packs have become particularly affordable with rapidly declining prices due to falling raw material costs, overcapacity in manufacturing, and increased production efficiency.  Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries have become the most affordable packs, with prices at $75 per kilowatt-hour as of last year, according to Statista

Pakistan Leads in Solar Generation Mix. Source: Reuters


Pakistan is investing in battery storage projects to improve grid stability, integrate renewable energy sources, and reduce reliance on traditional power sources. These projects are being developed by both public and private entities, with significant funding from international organizations like the Asian Development Bank (ADB).


Home With Rooftop Solar Panels and Battery Storage



Daily Charge-Discharge Cycle For A Home With Solar Panels and Battery Storage

While negatively impacting demand for grid electricity in the short term, the increasing use of battery storage solutions by rooftop solar consumers will likely improve grid stability, integrate renewable energy sources, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Here's how the IEEFA report explains it:

"The grid should adapt to changing consumer dynamics and increasing adoption of alternative energy sources. BESS (Battery Energy Storage Solutions) has inherent peak shaving abilities, which could work to the grid’s advantage and result in cost savings by reducing centralized generation. As more distributed solar systems operate, the grid is already experiencing peak-demand shifting. Consumers with solar PV installations defect from the grid during the day but reappear during the night, leading to declining minimum demand during the day but a rising peak demand during the evening (known as the duck curve). Daytime demand is expected to decrease even further if rapid solarization continues, which may jeopardize system stability. Instances of extremely low demand, such as during holidays, may cause utilities to trip, leading to the risk of grid failure. Conversely, the surge in evening peak requires a quick rampup of fossil fuel-based power generation". 

Battery packs are the most expensive components of electric vehicles today. Lower battery pack prices will make electric vehicles more affordable, leading to wider adoption and lower transport emissions. As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, Pakistan is pushing to grow electric vehicle adoption. The country’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) policy for 2025–2030 targets 30% of all new vehicles to be electric by 2030, rising to 90% by 2040. 

Pakistan has contributed only 0.28% of the CO2 emissions but it is among the biggest victims of climate change. The US, Europe, India, China and Japan, the world's biggest polluters, must accept responsibility for the catastrophic floods in Pakistan and climate disasters elsewhere. A direct link of the disaster in Pakistan to climate change has been confirmed by a team of 26 scientists affiliated with World Weather Attribution, a research initiative that specializes in rapid studies of extreme events, according to the New York Times


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Sunday, June 8, 2025

Builder.AI: Yet Another Global Indian Scam?

A London-based startup builder.ai, founded by an Indian named Sachin Dev Duggal,  recently filed for bankruptcy after its ‘neural network’ was discovered to be 700 Indians coding in India. The company promoted its "code-building AI" to be as easy as "ordering pizza".  It was backed by nearly half a billion dollar investment by top tech investors including Microsoft. The company was valued at $1.5 billion. This is the latest among a series of global scams originating in India. 


In recent years, India has emerged as a major hub for global scams. The US government has alleged in court documents that a large enterprise originating from India was involved in stealing nearly $1.5 billion from elderly Americans. Recently, two Indian nationals, Pranay Mamindi and Kishan Patel, were found guilty of participating in a money laundering conspiracy, concealing the source of the money, and using the illegally gained money to further promote a criminal enterprise.  Six other defendants from India also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. 

These global scams appear to have started amid widespread unemployment in India. Many of the scammers previously worked in call centers where they learned to use computers and telecommunications networks to reach out and talk to Americans. In 2022, U.S. citizens fell victim to a massive loss of over $10 billion from phishing calls orchestrated by illegal Indian call centers, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 

Indian-Americans, too, have been found guilty in a number of high-profile scams. A federal jury convicted former Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, an Indian-American entrepreneur, on all 12 counts of fraud in 2022. Balwani was born in 1965 in Pakistan to a Sindhi Hindu family. His one-time girlfriend and partner Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, was convicted on similar charges earlier that year. Both face up to 20 years in prison. 

Last year, a federal judge sentenced former Outcome Health CEO Rishi Shah, an Indian-American, to 7½ years in prison for a massive fraud scheme that prosecutors say enabled a “jet-set lifestyle” featuring private aircraft, yachts and a tony Chicago home.

In 2020, Dr. John Nath Kapoor, Indian-American CEO of Insys Therapeutics, was found guilty of conspiring to recklessly and illegally boost profits from the opioid painkiller Subsys, a fentanyl spray designed to be absorbed under the tongue, according to multiple media reports.

Rajat Gupta, an Indian-American former global head of McKinsey & Company, was convicted of insider trading in 2012. He was charged with passing on confidential business information about Goldman Sachs to hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam. Gupta was found guilty on multiple counts of conspiracy and securities fraud and served a two-year prison sentence. 

India Ranks Number One For Misinformation and Disinformation


Beyond the hub of scams and frauds, it seems that India has earned a reputation as the epicenter of misinformation and disinformation. According to experts surveyed for the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risk Report, India was ranked highest for the risk of misinformation and disinformation.  This was on full display during the recent conflict with Pakistan. 

After the recent Pahalgam militant attack in Kashmir, the Indian government immediately blamed it on Pakistan without any investigation or evidence. More than a month later, the perpetrators have neither been clearly identified nor apprehended. And yet, the government of Prime Minister Modi proceeded with air strikes inside Pakistan. Pakistan retaliated and shot down several Indian fighter jets, including its most advanced French Rafales. The conflict began to quickly escalate with strikes and counter-strikes, with the world fearing a nuclear exchange. This prompted the United States and several other countries to intervene and force a ceasefire in less than 4 days of armed conflict. 

During this short 4-day period, the Indian mainstream media was filled with lies. Here's how the Washington Post reported this: "Times Now Navbharat reported that Indian forces had entered Pakistan; TV9 Bharatvarsh told viewers that Pakistan’s prime minister had surrendered; Bharat Samachar said he was hiding in a bunker. All of them, along with some of the country’s largest channels — including Zee News, ABP News and NDTV — repeatedly proclaimed that major Pakistani cities had been destroyed". 

It is unfortunate but true: Fraud and falsehood have become endemic in the Indian society.  Part of the blame falls squarely on the ruling BJP party which promotes falsehoods. In 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-hand man and home minister Amit Shah told his party's volunteers commonly known as Modi Bhakts: "We can keep making messages go viral, whether they are real or fake, sweet or sour". "Keep making messages go viral. We have already made a WhatsApp group with 32 lakh people in Uttar Pradesh; every morning they are sent a message at 8 am", Shah added, according to a report in Dainik Bhaskar, an Indian Hindi-language daily newspaper.

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Saturday, May 31, 2025

Pakistan's Homegrown Link-17 Kill Chain Helped Shoot Down India's Rafale Fighter Jets

Using a homegrown datalink (Link-17) communication system, Pakistan has integrated its ground radars with a variety of fighter jets and airborne early warning aircraft (Swedish Erieye AWACS) to achieve high level of  situational awareness in the battlefield, according to experts familiar with the technology developed and deployed by the Pakistan Air Force. This integration allows quick execution of a "kill chain" to target and destroy enemy aircraft, according to experts. This capability was demonstrated recently in the India-Pakistan aerial battle of May 7-8 that resulted in the downing of several Indian fighter jets, including the French-made Rafale.  

Pakistan PAF's Homegrown Link-17. Source: Secret Projects


Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pilots flying Chinese-made J10C fighter jets fired the Chinese PL-15 air-to-air missiles and shot down at least two Indian Air Force's French-made Rafale jets in history's largest ever aerial battle, according to multiple media and intelligence reports. India had 72 warplanes on the attack and Pakistan responded with 42 of its own, according to the Pakistani military. 

Speaking on a recent podcast, Michael Dahm, a senior fellow at AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, said the kill chain may have started with a Pakistani ground radar—“maybe a surface-to-air missile system, or some other type of radar system”—which “illuminated the Indian target.” Then, a Pakistani J-10C fighter “launched its missiles, probably at range, and finally, an airborne early warning and control aircraft used a midcourse datalink to update and guide the missile to the Indian fighter.”   “The Pakistani Air Force deployed …’ A’ launched by ‘B’ and guided by ‘C’” and hit the target, he added. 

PAF Kill Chain During Op Sindoor. Source: Blackbird


Link-17 enables secure and jam-resistant voice and data exchanges between connected assets. Combined with electronic warfare, it allows the Pakistani military to control the electromagnetic spectrum, giving access to the enemy communications and denying them access to their own.  It also enables networked participants to view in real-time each other’s sensor feeds, which could come from radars, sonars, electro-optical (EO) systems such as cameras, and others. Link-17 has given the PAF a network protocol that it can use with a wide range of aerial assets, especially domestically driven programs, such as the JF-17 Thunder. 

Military aviation analysts conclude from the results of the air battle that the Chinese technology is as good, if not better than, the western technology. However, it must be understood that the way the technology is actually deployed in the battlefield is as important in achieving good results as the technology itself. Also, the men count as much, if not more than, the machines.  The legendary US Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager called Pakistan Air Force pilots "the best in the world".  In another tweet in 2015, Yeager said "they (PAF pilots) kicked the Indians butt". 

Related Links:

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Pakistan Downs India's French Rafale Jets in a Major Aerial Battle

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Has Pakistan Destroyed India's S-400 ADS?

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Pakistan Navy Modernization

West's Technological Edge in Geopolitical Competition

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Pakistan's Sea-Based Second Strike Capability

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Saturday, May 24, 2025

American Prof John Mearsheimer on International Geopolitics in South Asia

Professor John Mearsheimer, a renowned international relations expert known for his theory of "offensive realism", has recently spoken to India's CNN-News18 about the impact of US-China competition on geopolitics in South Asia. Sharing his thoughts in interviews on India-Pakistan conflict after the Pahalgam attack, he said: "There is really no military solution to this (Kashmir) problem. The only way this can be solved once and for all is through a political solution that both sides find acceptable". 

Professor John Mearsheimer on India-Pakistan Conflict

Professor John Mearsheimer is a highly respected professor of political science at the University of Chicago. Here's how he introduces himself on his personal website:  "I am the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Chicago, where I have taught since 1982. Above all else, I am an international relations theorist. More specifically, I am a realist, which means that I believe that the great powers dominate the international system, and they constantly engage in security competition with each other, which sometimes leads to war". 

He has said that neither China nor the US want a full-scale war between India and Pakistan that could escalate into a nuclear war. However, it is in China's interest to "see significant tensions between India and Pakistan to get India to devote a lot of its strategic thinking and resources against Pakistan" rather than on China. The US, on the other hand, wants India to focus all its energies on countering China. 

Talking about the recent "Operation Sindoor" launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Pakistan, Mearsheimer said it will not deter Pakistan. "By Operation Sindoor, India has responded like it has in the past. Don't think India wants a major war with Pakistan, it can't dominate on the lower or even the middle rungs of the escalation ladder", he said. 

On Chinese involvement in South Asia, Mearsheimer said: "China-Pakistan relations are quite good. The Chinese are providing excellent weaponry to Pakistan and will provide even better weapons in future".  "I don’t think China wants an India-Pakistan war but it wants to see significant tensions between India and Pakistan to get India to devote a lot of its strategic thinking and resources against Pakistan", he added. 

Talking about the US interest in South Asia, he said: "When it comes to countering China, India is the most important country for the US in South Asia. But the US also wants to maintain good relations with Pakistan to try to peel it away from China". 

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Haq's Musings

South Asia Investor Review

Pakistan Downs India's French Rafale Jets in a Major Aerial Battle

Has Modi Succeeded Diplomatically or Militarily Against Pakistan After Pahalgam?

Has Pakistan Destroyed India's S-400 ADS?

Pakistan's Aircraft Exports

Pakistan Navy Modernization

West's Technological Edge in Geopolitical Competition

Modi's India: A Paper Elephant?

Pahalgam Attack: Why is the Indian Media Not Asking Hard Questions?

Ukraine's Lesson For Pakistan: Never Give Up Nukes!

Pakistan Economy Nears Trillion Dollars

Pakistan's Sea-Based Second Strike Capability

Riaz Haq Youtube Channel

VPOS Youtube Channel

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Has Pakistan Destroyed India's S-400 Air Defense System at Adampur?

Pakistan claims its air force (PAF) has destroyed India's high-value Russian-made S-400 air defense system (ADS) located at the Indian Air Force (IAF) Adampur air base. India has rejected this claim and posted pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi posing in front of its S-400 rocket launchers in Adampur.  Meanwhile, there are reports that an Indian S-400 operator, named Rambabu Kumar Singh, was killed at about the time Pakistan claims to have hit it. Pakistan is believed to have targeted the S-400 systems using precision-guided CM-400AKG hypersonic missiles (max range 250 kilometers) launched from its JF-17 fighter aircraft.

How can an independent observer decipher the truth in the midst of these claims and counterclaims? To do that, one must first understand what constitutes the S-400 ADS. Is it just the rocket launchers? Or does it have other critical components like the radar and command-and-control systems? Could it be that the Pakistanis left the launchers alone and targeted and destroyed the radar and the command and control systems? Is that why the system operator was killed? 

Russia's S-400 Air Defense System. Source: BBC


What is Russia's S-400 ADS? 

The S-400 air defense system is designed to provide a layered defense with varying range capabilities. Its primary missiles, the 40N6, have a range of 400 kilometers (250 miles), while the 48N6E3 missiles offer a range of 250 kilometers (160 miles). The S-400 can also engage targets at shorter ranges using the 9M96E and 9M96E2 missiles, with ranges of 40 and 120 kilometers (25 and 75 miles), respectively. The S-400 consists of multiple components. Here's how it works. 

1. Long-range surveillance radar tracks objects and relays information to the command vehicle, which assesses potential targets.

2. Target is identified and the command vehicle orders missile launch.

3. Launch data is sent to the best placed launch vehicle and it releases surface-to-air missiles.

4. Engagement radar helps guide missiles towards the target.

The entire system is rendered useless if any of these components are damaged or destroyed. 

Death of an S-400 Operator: 

Indian news outlet First Bihar reported the death of an Indian soldier operating the S-400 Air Defense System in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir at Adampur Airbase on May 10, 2025.  This report was later deleted under pressure from the Indian government, in the same manner as The Hindu newspaper was forced to remove its story about the Indian Air Force's loss of French-made Rafale fighter jets in the aerial battle with the Pakistan Air Force. 


India's NDTV Report:

Indian journalist Vishnu Som has confirmed in conversation with Shiv Aroor on NDTV that  two near-hypersonic missiles fired from a JF-17 jet targeted Adampur Airbase. One of the missiles reportedly missed, while the outcome of the second is unclear. Aroor added that certain sensitive details about the incident could not be publicly disclosed.

If indeed Vishnu Som's confirmation is accurate, then the question arises as to how did a JF-17 armed with CM-400AKG hypersonic missiles (max range 250 kilometers) gain access to the S-400 system which has anti-access/area denial (A2AD) capabilities? The S-400's long range and ability to engage various aerial threats, including ballistic and cruise missiles, allows it to create a large area where enemy aircraft and missiles are denied access or freedom of operation. 

Summary:

While there has been no official confirmation of the loss at Adampur, there is considerable circumstantial evidence to suggest that the Pakistan Air Force's fighter jets damaged a Russian-supplied S-400 ADS system operated by the Indian military.  This is not the first time a Russian-made S-400 air defense system has been damaged or destroyed. Ukraine destroyed one in Crimea last year.  Apparently the S-400 has known vulnerabilities that could have been exploited by both Ukraine and Pakistan.

Related Links:

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Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Has Modi Succeeded Diplomatically or Militarily Against Pakistan After Pahalgam?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Operation Sindoor to "punish" Pakistan after blaming it for the Pahalgam militant attack without offering any evidence. He then quickly proceeded to seek and accept a US-brokered ceasefire within 100 hours of launching military strikes on Pakistan. Now he claims that India has succeeded in its objectives for Operation Sindoor. 

Let's examine Mr. Modi's claim of victory after seeking and accepting a ceasefire so soon after launching a large military operation. In terms of diplomacy, India clearly failed to prove its allegations against Pakistan to gain the support of the international community. Many of India's closest friends, including the US and Israel, condemned the Pahalgam attack but none held Pakistan responsible for it. At the same time, Pakistan's closest friends China and Turkey stood solidly with Pakistan. 

Militarily, India incurred heavy losses, including the loss of its most advanced Rafale fighter jets in a major aerial battle with the Pakistan Air Force. In fact, Mr. Modi was stunned by the robustness of Pakistan's retaliatory precision strikes with high-speed missiles and drone swarms.  He said: "Instead of supporting India's strike against terrorism, Pakistan started attacking India itself". He clearly wasn't expecting it when he ordered missile strikes against Pakistan. 

As to Mr. Modi's other claims about India's Operation Sindoor's "successes" against Pakistan, here's a good summation of their reality as seen by a veteran Indian diplomat MK Bhadrakumar:

"The bottom line is, Pakistan has demonstrated its nuclear deterrent capability. It is as simple as that. If Operation Sindoor were to be repeated every now and then, it would only have the same results and be halted unceremoniously within 100 hours. Eventually, it will not only lose all novelty to our ecstatic TV audience, but a troubled nation may eventually start blaming an inept leadership. Pakistan is a major military power. Creating potholes in an odd runway or rendering a radar dysfunctional temporarily will not intimidate that country. Succinctly put, it must be far better for India to take help from Trump, who harbors no animus against us, to solve the problem and move on with life". 

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

South Asia Investor Review

Pakistan Downs India's French Rafale Jets in a Major Aerial Battle

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IDEAS2024: Pakistan Defense Industry Expo

Pakistan's Aircraft Exports

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Ukraine's Lesson For Pakistan: Never Give Up Nukes!

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Riaz Haq Youtube Channel

VPOS Youtube Channel