Ever since India announced that its armed forces struck nine locations associated with proscribed terrorist outfits, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT*) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM*) inside Pakistan, and Pakistan-held Kashmir, speculation has been rife about the weapons India used in Operation Sindoor.
Notably, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, an Indian Air Force (IAF) official, who briefed the press at the National Media Centre in New Delhi following India's strikes, stated that niche-technology weapons were deployed during the operation.
Singh, however, did not reveal the exact nature of the weaponry India put to use to execute Wednesday's strikes.
But several media reports suggested that India carried out the strikes with the help of French-made SCALP missiles and Hammer precision munitions.
Furthermore, an investigative defence journalist, also a former spokesperson of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), emphasised that India used the BrahMos missiles in its counter-terrorism strikes on Wednesday.
To prove his point, Anantha Krishnan, the military commentator, shared a video in which the nose cap of the BrahMos missile that struck one of the locations in Pakistan could be seen.
"I can confirm that this is the nose cap of a BrahMos Missile (Air Version), which is ejected after the booster stage, right at the start of the ramjet engine phase," he wrote on X.
An IAF veteran, who spoke to Sputnik India on the condition of anonymity, backed Krishnan's theory, albeit with a minor tweak.
The former fighter jet pilot claimed that India may have put the BrahMos in operation, but not on Wednesday; rather, the widely-acclaimed projectile was possibly used on May 8, when India also reportedly used the S-400 to prevent a Pakistani attack on multiple military installations.
"India used at least one Brahmos-A missile, based on social media photos posted of one Brahmos-A solid propellant booster motor that fell in Haryana/Punjab. It is possible that the Brahmos-A was used last night, not on the night of May 7," the military analyst told Sputnik India.
Meanwhile, Vijainder K Thakur, a defence analyst and prominent speaker on military affairs, confirmed that India did fire the BrahMos during its ongoing Operation Sindoor.
"So India did use the Brahmos-A," he wrote on X, before adding that it was the first battlefield demonstration of the BrahMos by India.
Interestingly, the Government of India on Thursday said that the Indian Armed Forces retaliated against a Pakistani attack on its defence installations, neutralising a Pakistani air defence system in Lahore in the process.
"On the night of 07-08 May 2025, Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles. These were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems. The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that prove the Pakistani attacks," the statement from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) read.
The Indian Armed Forces foiled another strike from Pakistan along its western border during the intervening night of May 8 and 9.
"Pakistan Armed Forces launched multiple attacks using drones and other munitions along the entire Western Border on the intervening night of 8 and 9 May 2025. Pak troops also resorted to numerous ceasefire violations (CFVs) along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. The drone attacks were effectively repulsed and befitting reply was given to the CFVs. The Indian Army remains committed to safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation. All nefarious designs will be responded with force," the Additional Directorate General of Public Information of the Indian Army said in a post on X.
*banned terrorist outfit