The Rising Importance of Electronic Warfare

Recent reports have revealed that GPS jamming has now been detected along the India-Pakistan border, a major sign that electronic warfare (EW) units have been deployed by both countries. The detection of jamming activities suggests that the situation on the ground is more tense and strategically sensitive than it has been in years. Both India and Pakistan are now preparing not just for conventional combat, but for a future conflict where control over the electromagnetic spectrum could be decisive.

While open conflict has not yet erupted, the deployment of EW systems underscores serious military preparations. With drones, missiles, communications, and early-warning systems increasingly vulnerable to jamming, the battlefield itself is being quietly reshaped — and both sides are rapidly adapting.

Pakistan’s Electronic Warfare Strength: Growing, Modernizing, and Battle-Ready

In recent years, Pakistan has significantly enhanced its electronic warfare capabilities, recognizing EW as a cornerstone of modern military strategy. Leveraging close defense ties with China and Turkey, Pakistan has fielded a new generation of ground-based and airborne EW systems.

On the ground, Pakistan operates advanced Chinese mobile jammers, Turkish KORAL electronic warfare platforms, and several locally developed communication and radar jammers. These systems provide strong tactical and operational-level jamming, crucial for neutralizing Indian communications, drone operations, and missile guidance systems during a conflict.

In the air, Pakistan employs EW-modified Falcon 20 aircraft equipped with advanced jamming pods, allowing for disruption of enemy radar and communications across wide areas. Additional collaborations with Turkey have led to even more sophisticated counter-drone and anti-radar jamming systems, with tactical focus on battlefield survivability and precision disruption.

Although numerically smaller than India’s EW inventory, Pakistan’s systems are modern, mobile, and highly capable. Estimates suggest Pakistan fields around 20–30 ground-based EW systems and 6–8 airborne EW platforms, focusing on achieving maximum impact where it matters most — the tactical and theater levels.

India’s Electronic Warfare Arsenal: Larger but Facing Modernization Challenges

India has developed an extensive electronic warfare network, largely through indigenous programs such as Samyukta, Dharashakti, and Himshakti. India’s EW forces are significant in numbers, with over 200 ground-based systems deployed across various sectors.

Airborne platforms like the Phalcon AWACS, Netra AEW&C, and modified fighter jets with Israeli and Russian EW pods form the core of India’s aerial electronic warfare efforts. These systems provide broad coverage, but many have been operational for years and require constant upgrades to match evolving threats.

While India’s EW structure is undeniably larger, it faces challenges of divided deployment — having to stretch its forces between the Pakistan and China fronts — and dependency on aging platforms like some elements of Samyukta that are overdue for modernization.

Comparing the EW Powers: Pakistan’s Quality vs India’s Quantity

In pure numbers, India outnumbers Pakistan in electronic warfare platforms. However, numbers do not always guarantee dominance. Pakistan’s new-generation systems from China and Turkey are specifically designed to counter modern threats like drones, GPS-guided missiles, and battlefield communications — areas where India’s reliance on some older systems could prove vulnerable.

Pakistan’s EW systems are more focused, tactical, and mobile, offering agility and rapid deployment in contested zones like Kashmir. In contrast, India’s EW systems, while widespread, often need heavy logistics and require synchronized coordination to function at full effectiveness, particularly across difficult mountainous terrains.

Moreover, Pakistan’s recent investments into counter-AWACS jamming, GPS spoofing, and anti-radar operations demonstrate that it is preparing not just to defend — but to disrupt India’s technological advantage in the next conflict.

The Impact of EW in Future India-Pakistan Conflict

Electronic warfare is poised to become one of the most decisive factors in any future India-Pakistan conflict.

On the air front, Pakistan’s ability to jam Indian AWACS platforms could limit India’s early-warning advantage, opening windows for PAF (Pakistan Air Force) fighters to challenge Indian air superiority. Drone warfare would also be heavily affected, with GPS jamming rendering many reconnaissance and strike drones unreliable or even useless.

For missile forces, the importance of electronic warfare cannot be overstated. Successful GPS jamming could cause precision-guided munitions to miss their intended targets — a major setback for any side depending heavily on precision strikes.

On the ground, Pakistan’s tactical EW capabilities could paralyze Indian battalion- and brigade-level communications, sowing confusion and disarray at the frontline. At the same time, India’s larger EW forces would seek to overwhelm Pakistan’s command and control systems in key sectors like Sialkot and Kashmir.

Strategically, the first few days of conflict could be shaped almost entirely by who controls the electromagnetic spectrum. If Pakistan’s mobile and theater-specific jammers perform as intended, they could create crucial asymmetries early on, allowing Pakistan to neutralize superior Indian numbers through disruption and deception.

Vulnerabilities and Strengths: A Realistic View

Pakistan’s strength lies in its modern, imported EW technologies, mobility, and focused tactical deployment. However, it still faces challenges due to the smaller overall number of platforms and potential supply-chain dependencies on Chinese and Turkish equipment.

India’s strength remains its numerical superiority and a broad-spectrum EW structure. However, over-reliance on aging systems, logistical strain across two borders, and the slower pace of modernization could expose vulnerabilities during a fast-paced, high-tech conflict.

In Short: The Silent Battle Begins

The detection of GPS jamming along the India-Pakistan border marks the beginning of a new kind of silent, invisible conflict — one where electronic warfare capabilities could determine victory or defeat long before the first tank rolls or the first fighter jet launches.

Pakistan’s strategic focus on modern, mobile, and highly specialized EW systems gives it a real chance to contest — and potentially control — key parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, neutralizing India’s numerical edge in critical sectors.

As both countries prepare for a future where drones, missiles, and communications are as important as soldiers and tanks, the winner of the next India-Pakistan conflict might not be decided by firepower alone — but by who dominates the airwaves, blinds the enemy’s eyes, and silences their voice at the crucial moment.

In the next war, the airwaves will decide the battlefield.