Operation Sindoor: IAF Rafale jets strike Pakistan with scalp missiles, hammer bombs-Reports
Written By Jatin Verma
Published: May 07, 2025, 24:41 IST | Updated: May 07, 2025, 24:41 IST
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India News: India carried out a series of precision strikes on 9 terror infrastructure sites, including terror camps and launchpads, in Pakistan and PoK early Wednesday
What is scalp missle? In a decisive reaction to the recent Pahalgam terror attack, the Indian Air Force (IAF) launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terror camps and launchpads, in Pakistan and PoK early Wednesday. The operation, carried out by Rafale fighter jets, marks a significant escalation, with precision airstrikes reportedly demolishing key Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed bases.
According to reports, the Rafales used advanced SCALP and Hammer missiles to execute the strikes, ensuring deep penetration and high-impact results. The airstrikes are said to have targeted training camps and ammunition dumps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), dealing a severe blow to terror infrastructure.
The SCALP provides the IAF with a long-range, stealthy capability to strike deep into enemy territory at strategic targets, while the HAMMER offers a more versatile, medium-range precision strike option against a wider array of targets, including hardened structures and potentially moving targets.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed the strikes early Wednesday, calling them a “focused, measured and non-escalatory” response to the recent attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where terrorists brutally killed 26 civilians after identifying and segregating them.
The Ministry of Defence said that all nine targets were terrorist infrastructure sites used to plan and direct attacks against India.
STORM SHADOW/SCALP is an air-launched long range, conventionally armed designed for deep strikes against high-value, hardened targets like command centers, airfields, and infrastructure. SCALP is a 1,300 kg air-launched cruise missile with conventional explosives. They are typically launched from UK’s Eurofighter Typhoon or France’s Rafale fighter jets.
The missile flies at subsonic speeds (around Mach 0.8) at low altitudes, using terrain-following and GPS/INS guidance with infrared terminal homing for high accuracy and carries a substantial warhead (around 450 kg) capable of penetrating bunkers.
HAMMER stands for Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range/AASM). The missile has a medium-range (up to 70 km), air-to-ground precision-guided munition. It's a modular kit that can be fitted to standard bombs (ranging from 125 kg to 1000 kg).The missile can be launched from standoff distances, allowing the aircraft to remain outside enemy air defense ranges and is integrated with the IAF's Rafale and LCA Tejas aircraft.