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India Needs to Study Iran’s 'Drain and Trap' Missile War Playbook: IAF Veteran
India Needs to Study Iran’s 'Drain and Trap' Missile War Playbook: IAF Veteran
Sputnik India
Middle East heavyweight Iran and arch-foe Israel, and its friend, the United States (US), have been locked in a military conflict that has hit regional... 25.03.2026, Sputnik India
2026-03-25T21:22+0530
2026-03-25T21:22+0530
2026-03-25T22:32+0530
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Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday urged the country's military to draw lessons from the ongoing conflict between Israel, the US, and Iran in the Gulf.Iran's asymmetric warfare is posing a significant challenge to America's high-tech weaponry, at times putting them under immense strain, especially in the Gulf, where Washington's allies have come under a barrage of drone and missile attacks repeatedly, retired Air Marshal M. Matheswaran, a military pundit and a former high-ranking Indian Air Force (IAF) official, told Sputnik India.While the Iranian Air Force is nonexistent at the moment and has some air defence missiles and air defence systems, the Islamic Republic depends largely on the exceptional usage of drones and missiles, long-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles. All this has been very intelligently developed as a strategy against an enemy that is much stronger and possesses overwhelming firepower, actually, he added.Iran's choice of enemy targets as well as its strategy, has been very well thought out and has played out extremely well so far, he stressed, adding that this is a lesson the Indian Armed Forces need to observe and learn from the country.Notably, American military assets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, amongst others, have suffered notable losses of advanced military equipment.Among aircraft, F-15E Strike Eagles and KC-135 Tankers (Mid-Air Refuelers) have been lost, while an F-35 was also hit by an Iranian missile, according to a statement released by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).Additional high-value targets that Iran has damaged are an early warning radar at Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base, which is worth $1.1 billion, and around 4 AN/TPY-2 Radars linked with the THAAD air defence system, each valued at approximately $300 million, in the UAE, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.Though India has strong missile capabilities, it still has a long way to go in terms of technology, as it remains dependent on foreign powers for certain critical components, the best example of which is the fighter jet engine, he concluded.
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India Needs to Study Iran’s 'Drain and Trap' Missile War Playbook: IAF Veteran
21:22 25.03.2026 (Updated: 22:32 25.03.2026) Middle East heavyweight Iran and arch-foe Israel, and its friend, the United States (US), have been locked in a military conflict that has hit regional countries hard and boiled energy markets worldwide.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday urged the country's military to draw lessons from the ongoing conflict between Israel, the US, and Iran in the Gulf.
"We need to formalise a comprehensive integrated roadmap for the next decade factoring in the lessons learnt, challenges and opportunities going forward whilst ensuring Aatmanirbharta and operational readiness across all fronts," Singh said, during a meeting with the Chief of Defence Staff, Tri-Service Chiefs, Defence Secretary, Secretary (Defence Production) and Chairman, DRDO in Delhi, according to a Ministry of Defence (MoD) statement.
Iran's asymmetric warfare is posing a significant challenge to America's high-tech weaponry, at times putting them under immense strain, especially in the Gulf, where Washington's allies have come under a barrage of drone and missile attacks repeatedly,
retired Air Marshal M. Matheswaran, a military pundit and a former high-ranking Indian Air Force (IAF) official,
told Sputnik India.While the Iranian Air Force is nonexistent at the moment and has some air defence missiles and air defence systems, the Islamic Republic depends largely on the
exceptional usage of drones and missiles, long-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles. All this has been very intelligently developed as a strategy against an enemy that is much stronger and possesses overwhelming firepower, actually, he added.
"Iran's response to American-Israeli strikes needs a very careful study because it's not something that's reactive; it is something that they probably have prepared for more than two to three decades. Besides, evolving these capabilities and these strategies has been fine-tuned. That's the primary reason why they're able to withstand such an onslaught against them and still respond so effectively," Matheswaran underscored.
Iran's choice of enemy targets as well as its strategy, has been very well thought out and has played out extremely well so far, he stressed, adding that this is a lesson the Indian Armed Forces need to observe and learn from the country.
Notably, American military assets in the
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, amongst others, have suffered notable losses of
advanced military equipment.
Among aircraft,
F-15E Strike Eagles and KC-135 Tankers (Mid-Air Refuelers) have been lost, while an F-35 was also hit by an Iranian missile, according to a statement released by the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Additional high-value targets that Iran has damaged are an early warning radar at Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base, which is worth $1.1 billion, and around 4 AN/TPY-2 Radars linked with the
THAAD air defence system, each valued at approximately $300 million, in the UAE, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
"The most important lesson that the Indian military needs to actually pick out is how the Iranians have mastered the technology. Each of their missiles is accurate, and their weapon systems are largely their own development, with their missile production and their technology development being a 30-year story," Matheswaran explained.
Though India has strong missile capabilities, it still has a long way to go in terms of technology, as it remains dependent on foreign powers for certain critical components, the best example of which is the fighter jet engine, he concluded.
