The Pakistani military has announced that it intercepted and neutralised more than two dozen Indian drones that crossed the border since last night.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday morning, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the downed Indian aircraft included sophisticated ‘Harop drones”, a loitering munition system developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
The army’s top spokesperson also displayed a series of pictures during the press briefing that showed debris from the drones. The locations where the drones were intercepted include Karachi and Lahore, indicating a significant depth of the incursion.
However, he assured the nation that the armed forces were on high alert and actively engaged in neutralising further threats.
According to the IAI website, the Harop drone is a dual-capacity system that can both hover over a battlefield and strike targets upon command.
It is particularly noted for its ability to target enemy air defences and other critical assets. This type of drone blurs the lines between a traditional unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a missile, possessing self-propelled flight capabilities and the option for autonomous or manual operations.
If a target is not engaged, the Harop can return to base and land. Its design allows for launch from land-based canisters or air platforms.
The Harop drone has a documented history of use in conflicts, notably by Azerbaijan against Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in both 2016 and 2020.
It was allegedly used in attacks that resulted in casualties and the destruction of military vehicles. Additionally, the drone has reportedly been deployed in the Syrian conflict, with claims of successful strikes against Syrian air defences and armed forces.
There are also suggestions that Turkiye may have been an early adopter of the system.
