By News On Air May 14, 2025
India’s Operation Sindoor has been hailed as a decisive military victory by international defence experts, including John Spencer, a prominent U.S. military veteran and head of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute in New York.
Referring to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Spencer pointed out that, unlike past incidents, India responded without delay. He described the campaign as swift and precisely calibrated, and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertive stance against nuclear blackmail, highlighting the message that India will not tolerate such threats and will respond with precision and resolve. He asserted ‘India was not fighting for vengeance. It was fighting for deterrence. And it worked.
India’s restraint is not weakness, is maturity. It imposed costs, redefined thresholds, and retained escalation dominance. India didn’t just respond to an attack. It changed the strategic equation.’
In a series of social media posts and his popular podcast, Spencer stated that just four days of calibrated military action were enough to conclude that India had achieved a “massive victory.” He emphasised that the operation was not symbolic but rather an example of decisive power being clearly and effectively applied.
In a detailed article shared on his Social media, Spencer noted that Operation Sindoor met and exceeded its strategic objectives of dismantling terrorist infrastructure, demonstrating military superiority, restoring deterrence, and unveiling a new national security doctrine.
Adding to the chorus of international praise, Austrian combat aviation analyst and author Tom Cooper also described India’s response as a “clear-cut victory.” In social media, Cooper asserted that Pakistan’s decision to move toward a ceasefire was a direct result of India’s superior military response. He credited India’s success to its advanced firepower and its multi-layered air defence systems.
Both experts underlined that Operation Sindoor marked a significant shift in India’s approach to cross-border terrorism and national defence, setting a new precedent in the region.