Tahir Mahmood Azad
The rapid spread of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has changed the dynamics of the India-Pakistan rivalry. Instead of manned airpower and attritional land exchanges, the competition is now based on cheap precision, constant surveillance, deniable force, and escalation ambiguity. Drones of all types are now used constantly along the militarized India-Pakistan border, known as the Line of Control (LOC). These drones range from commercial quadcopters used for spying or improvised attacks to advanced medium-altitude long-endurance/high-altitude long-endurance (MALE/HALE) platforms that conduct long-range precision strikes. During the May 2025 crisis, both states employed drones at unprecedented scale to probe air defenses, strike sensitive installations, and signal resolve. This marked a qualitative escalation: for the first time in the rivalry, unmanned systems were used not only for surveillance and tactical support but also for coercive and strategic signalling, effectively altering the escalation ladder.
In this contested region, drones have lowered the threshold for force, obscured attribution, and compressed decision-making timelines for Indian and Pakistani militaries. As a result, the growing autonomy and lethality intensify risks of miscalculation in a nuclearized environment. South Asia’s drone competition is best understood as part of the broader global transformation in unmanned warfare rather than in isolation.
The Global Drone Revolution
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