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Drone warfare has expanded the conflict in Kashmir between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed neighbors.
May 9, 2025, 4:31 p.m. ET
India and Pakistan, old enemies, are engaged in their most expansive military conflict in decades, and with continued shelling and further drone attacks on Friday, they are using new tools of war to enhance their ability to attack and spy on each other.
On Friday, Indian defense officials said Pakistan’s military had attempted aerial intrusions in 36 locations with “300 to 400” drones to test India’s air-defense system.
A day earlier, Pakistani military officials said they had shot down 25 drones belonging to India, including in Karachi and Rawalpindi, the headquarters of Pakistan’s main intelligence body. Pakistani officials also told U.S. officials that India was engaging in “drone terrorism” by targeting civilian areas, according to a statement. India has not commented on the drones.
Although many countries now have drones in their arsenals, this is the first time the unmanned aerial vehicles are being used by the two nuclear-armed countries against each other. The use of drone warfare may have been inevitable, but it could reshape the way the world views hostilities between India and Pakistan, much as it did after the two countries became nuclear powers in the 1990s.
The conflict began after militants killed 26 people last month in India-controlled Kashmir. India accused Pakistan of being behind the attack and vowed to take military action. Pakistan has denied involvement.
The conflict has escalated since Wednesday, when India conducted airstrikes on Pakistan. Since then, the two countries have been locked in an intensifying exchange of gunfire, drone attacks, claims, counterclaims and misinformation.
