The global impact of Ukraine's now-infamous Operation Spider's Web drone offensive deep inside Russian territory are worth considering. The attack successfully targeted strategic air bases thousands of kilometres inside Russia, destroying radar stations and bomber aircraft.
All from drones and all weeks after India's drone-supported Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.
The contexts are different but there are five big lessons India must absorb because the age of warfare is changing fast.
Drone warfare is the core of future military conflicts
Drones are not 'force multipliers'. They are fast becoming the main force.
The Spider's Web strikes are the clearest confirmation yet that UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are not a passing novelty. They are the foundation of how future wars will be fought.
The idea a military can reach deep into enemy territory, cause damage reserved for bombers, and never risk a single pilot is no longer hypothetical. It is operational and real.
India must accelerate shift to unmanned systems
India has poured decades of strategic effort into its fighters, helicopters, and air transport.
But Spider's Web confirms something important. The future of air power will be unmanned, AI-driven and long-range. India has made early moves in that direction but not nearly at the pace required. The Ukrainian operation should push India into a far more aggressive push on indigenous drones, armed UAVs, and autonomy-led weapons systems.
Spider's Web a template for deep-strike operations
India's air defence during Operation Sindoor performed brilliantly. Nothing broke through to our high-value targets. But Ukraine's drone strike campaign reveals that even the most protected, in-depth enemy installations are not safe from a clever and unpredictable adversary.
Spider's Web is a manual in creative long-range sabotage and strategic harassment. Indian planners and special forces must internalise this and expand their own toolkits.
India's drones proved their worth in Op Sindoor
India's drone operations during Op Sindoor struck targets in PoK and Pakistan with precise results. These were smaller in scale compared to Ukraine's campaign, but they showed the value of autonomous missile-firing platforms.
The next step is to scale up capability. India needs loitering munitions, AI-guided drones that can find and disable airframes on the ground, and platforms with deeper strike range.
Spider's Web will spark India's own drone ecosystem
Big shifts in doctrine are always triggered by events like this.
The Ukrainian drone blitz will influence how India thinks about new missions, platforms and tactics. Expect a surge in interest and investment in swarm drones, suicide drones, stealth UAVs, electronic warfare payloads and autonomous deep strike systems.
Both public and private sectors in India will feed off this momentum.
The future battlefield is here and India must not waste another moment playing catch-up.
