- By Shubham Bajpai
- Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:58 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Pakistan used spies, sleeper cells to find S-400s.
- S-400s were decisive in preventing Pakistani air incursions.
- Historic 314 km S-400 interception of Pakistani AWACS.
Retired Air Marshal Jeetendra Misha, who headed the Western Air Command during Operation Sindoor, has revealed that Pakistan resorted to extensive intelligence gathering efforts, including the activation of spies and sleeper cells in India, to locate the S-400 air defence systems during May 2025 military conflict with India.
Speaking with news agency ANI, Mishra said that the S-400 played a decisive role in Operation Sindoor in preventing Pakistani aircraft, drones and projectiles from reaching within roughly 200 km of the Indian border. The success demotivated Pakistan so much that it tried to identify the batteries' positions.
"Every time they (Pakistan) got airborne, they were shot by an S-400. The S-400 was the biggest threat as far as they were concerned. They also activated spies and sleeper cells within India to find out where the S-400s were located," the Air Marshal revealed during the ANI interview.
Mishra also talked about the most-discussed satellite image shared by China, without naming the country.
"Pakistanis were desperate to find where these S-400s were. They used every available means. They were also getting satellite help from other nations," the Air Marshal said.
The Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal awardee former air marshal described the Russian-origin air defence system as the most significant obstacle to Pakistan’s air operations during the conflict.
India had acquired the S-400 under a 2018 deal with Russia. By last year, before the military conflict, India had already received delivery of three units. The fourth squadron was delivered to India in June 2026.
The S-400 combines long-range surveillance radars and surface-to-air missiles (SAM).
How S-400 decimated Pakistan's terrestrial and aerial surveillance
Explaining how the situation unfolded, Mishra said that the Indian offence weakened Pakistan's terrestrial surveillance and made it highly dependent on airborne warning and control systems or AWACS.
However, an AWACS operating from Sargodha was detected and engaged by an S-400. This engagement took place from a distance of 314 km, the longest SAM interception of its kind in military history.