Operation Sindoor: How India used SCALP and HAMMER weapons to pound Pakistani terror camps

Briefing the media on the conduct of Operation Sindoor, India’s strike on nine terrorist camps located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the wee hours of May 7, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said the operation was undertaken through precision capability and niche technology with a careful selection of warheads to ensure there was no collateral damage. The point of impact was a specific building or a group of buildings and all the targets were neutralised with clinical efficiency.

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The briefing, conducted by the Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, along with Wg Cdr Singh and Col Sofiya Qureshi from the Army, however, did not reveal any details of the tactical aspects of the operations, the aircraft employed or the type of ordnance that was used.

Emerging reports suggest that the SCALP long-range air-launched cruise missile and the HAMMER smart bomb, both of French origin, were among the weapons used to hit targets across the border.

Given the choice of weapons, the French Rafale multi-role aircraft, the IAF’s newest combat platform that was inducted in 2021, was employed to deliver the ordnance. The Rafales would have been escorted by other aircraft like the MiG-29 or the Su-30 as well as electronic warfare and surveillance aircraft and drones to provide cover against Pakistani aircraft or suppress hostile surveillance and air defence systems.

There are also reports of the Navy contributing to the operation with its Boeing P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft being deployed for ground mapping and target acquisition. These aircraft were used along the Himalayan frontier during the stand-off with China in 2020 for recce, and have also featured in recent tri-service exercises in high altitude areas.

The SCALP and HAMMER were procured for the Rafale aircraft, of which 36 are in service with the IAF, equipping two squadrons based at Ambala in Haryana and Hasimara in the north-east. Another 26 maritime variants of these aircraft are on order for the Indian Navy.

SCALP is an acronym for a French term that translates into ‘Long Range Autonomous Cruise Missile System’, and is also known as Storm Shadow in the United Kingdom where it is co-produced. Weighing 1,300 kg with a warhead of 450 kg, it has a range of up to 250 km.

It is a low flying ‘fire and forget’ weapon, and once launched, it cannot be controlled. It is programmed to reach its target before launch and guides itself to its destination by onboard GPS and terrain mapping sensors. It has been designed for high-value strategic targets like command, control and communications centres, airfields, ports, power stations, ammunition dumps, etc.

HAMMER, an acronym for ‘Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range’, is an all-weather precision-guided, air-to-surface stand-off weapon that can hit targets up to a range of 70 km, depending upon the altitude and speed of the launch platform.

It consists of a nose-mounted guidance section and a tail-mounted range extension kit that includes a rocket booster and winglets for maneuverability. The HAMMER has 125, kg, 250 kg, 500 kg and 1000 kg variants and has been developed for both close air support as well as deep strike missions.

According to reports, the IAF is also integrating the HAMMER with its indigenously developed Tejas light combat aircraft. Interestingly, both SCALP and HAMMER have also been used by Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.

Operation Sindoor lasted for less than half-an-hour from 1.05 AM to 1.25 AM and covered a wide swath from central Rajasthan to Kashmir. Several airbases located in different parts of the country would have been used to launch the aircraft, requiring meticulous planning, a high level of coordination and synergy and utmost secrecy.