Dramatic Escalation: India deploys drones after Pakistan targets 14 Indian locations

India hit several high-profile targets in Pakistan, including Chinese-origin air defence systems in Lahore and Multan, destroying them with precision strikes on Thursday morning, as tensions between the neighbours peaked, crossing the military-on-military threshold from military-on-terrorist action.

Harop suicide drones were used to target Pakistani air defence systems in response to an escalation by Islamabad, officials said, which tried to hit military targets the previous night at 14 places across India, including Srinagar, Chandigarh and Bhuj.

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New Delhi reiterated its commitment to non-escalation, provided this was respected by the neighbour as well. It also said the strikes were a proportionate response to provocation.

People aware of developments said air defence systems, including the Russian-origin S400, were used to take down dozens of drones and missiles that were fired toward Indian military installations. They added that the domestic air defence grid thwarted the attack and is said to have inflicted heavy damages, including the shooting down of at least one enemy fighter aircraft as of Thursday morning.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the forces and said the precise strikes were possible due to "our formidable and professionally trained armed forces, equipped with high quality equipment." A high-value airborne early warning system used by Pakistani Air Force is also said to have been damaged.

India used its mix of indigenous, Russian- and Israeli-origin air defence weapons to take on the assault.

Given the escalation by Pakistan to the military-on-military level, India responded with targeted hits on key military bases, including at Multan, Lahore and Karachi. Chinese origin HQ9 air defence systems are believed to have been destroyed in the raids at more than one location. These systems had been used to target Indian military assets.

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New Delhi previously said it had taken non-escalatory action and that too, only against terrorist targets in Pakistan, without targeting its military. The Pakistani attack, however, left it with little choice, and India using a variety of weapons to punish air force and army units responsible for the provocations from across the border.

On Thursday "morning, Indian armed forces targeted air defence radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan," said one of the officials cited. "Indian response has been in the same domain with the same intensity as Pakistan. It has been reliably learnt that an air defence system at Lahore has been neutralised."

Officials added that Pakistan has increased the intensity of its firing across the Line of Control, using mortar and heavy calibre artillery in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar and Rajouri sectors in Jammu and Kashmir. India is responding strongly to this attack.

On Wednesday night, Pakistan attempted to engage military targets in Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai and Bhuj using drones and missiles, officials said, adding that these were neutralised by the integrated counter drone grid and air defence systems.

The debris left behind from these attacks is being recovered and is evidence of the Pakistani provocations, they added.