According to the war report released by the Pakistani side, at least 300 cruise missiles were launched that night alone, striking dozens of military targets in India.

Although the Indian side claims to have intercepted the vast majority of cruise missiles, it is clear that this is bragging.

In the face of modern air defense systems, cruise missiles like the "Khataf-9" without stealth capabilities are indeed difficult to survive.

Not to mention, Pakistan used mainly "Khataf-7" cruise missiles that night.

The question is, does India have a modern air defense system?

The answer is clearly no.

The core of a modern air defense system is definitely not ground-based air defense radars and ground-based air defense systems, but AWACS aircraft patrolling the air.

Whether it is the United States or China, the core of intercepting cruise missiles is early warning aircraft.

Why?

The biggest difficulty in intercepting cruise missiles is actually the discovery of cruise missiles.

Even the "Hataf-7" type of cruise missile developed more than 10 years ago, did not adopt any stealth design, the RCS value is also about 0.1, and the cruise missiles are all ultra-low-altitude penetration, the flight altitude is between 200 meters and 500 meters, some more advanced cruise missiles, and even the cruise flight altitude can be controlled within 50 meters, so it is difficult for any kind of ground air defense radar to detect cruise missiles in time.

For traditional air defense systems, even if a cruise missile is found, it is too late to intercept it.

Relatively speaking, it is easier to intercept cruise missiles, that is, cruise missiles are all very slow, and several of them fly along a fixed route.

Theoretically, as soon as a cruise missile is found, any kind of anti-aircraft weapon can shoot it down.

It is clear that how to detect cruise missiles is the key.

For this reason, both the United States and China attach great importance to early warning aircraft, because only early warning aircraft can detect cruise missiles in time.

In fact, the air defense systems of the great powers are based on AWACS aircraft.

Does India have one?

Of course there are, there are only 4 of them, one of which is still a domestic small early warning aircraft with no actual combat value at all, and only 3 can really be used.

What can you do with 3 AWACS?

Even if the Indian Air Force deploys all three AWACS aircraft near New Delhi, it can only guarantee that one AWACS aircraft will take off for patrol in wartime.

What can you do with 1 AWACS?

It is undeniable that India did intercept some cruise missiles, but certainly not most of them, and it would be nice to be able to shoot down a few dozen.

Interestingly, Pakistan attacked not India's air bases and air defense positions with cruise missiles, but military camps in the northwest.

Pakistan is striking at the main forces of the Indian Army, especially in the areas close to the border!

Obviously, this also shows the concern of the Pakistani military.

That is, if the Indian Army launches an immediate ground offensive, the Pakistani Army may not be able to hold on to border towns such as Lahore.

It's not that the Pakistan Army can't fight, it's that the combat readiness of the Pakistan Army is not high enough.

To put it bluntly, after a surprise attack, the Pakistan Army may not be able to complete the adjustment in time, and therefore may not be able to hold the border defense.

If India launches an immediate ground offensive, Pakistan will most likely lose Lahore.

From a strategic point of view, Lahore is of great irreplaceable value.

Although strategic roads and railways in western Pakistan have been built, the eastern roads and railways are still of vital value on the transportation arteries that run through Pakistan, as the main arteries connecting the north and south of Pakistan, and are also strategic points that the Pakistani army must defend.

As long as Lahore falls, Pakistan will become extremely passive.

Don't forget, in the Third Indo-Pakistani War, Pakistan was defeated in Lahore.

Therefore, Pakistan needs to use air strikes to contain India's ground offensive and buy time for the defenders in Lahore.

Interestingly, after the counterattack, Pakistan did not allow the seriously ill group deployed near Islamabad to go south to support Lahore.

In the light of the circumstances, Pakistan may have feared that its troops would be bombed during the movement.

Actually, this is understandable.

Although in the first round of the battle, the Pakistan Air Force performed amazingly, shooting down more than 50 Indian fighters in one fell swoop, but its own losses were minimal, but in terms of overall strength, the Pakistan Air Force is still inferior to the Indian Air Force, and the Pakistan Air Force does not grasp the initiative on the battlefield.

Not to mention, the Indian Air Force also has dozens of F-35AIs.

If there is no battlefield air supremacy, the consequences of allowing the ground forces to be transferred on a large scale will be difficult to imagine.

With the strength of the Indian Air Force, it will certainly be able to mobilize hundreds of fighter jets to launch strikes against Pakistani armored forces heading south from Islamabad to Lahore.

It's just that the Indian Air Force did not launch a second round of air strikes before dawn.

According to information later revealed, in the Indian Air Force's operational plan, there was indeed an air strike that night, focusing on Pakistani ground forces near Lahore.

So, why hasn't the Indian Air Force continued its efforts?

Quite simply, the losses are too great.

Obviously, before the start of the war, the senior generals of the Indian Air Force certainly did not think that more than 50 combat aircraft would be lost in the first round of attacks.

You know, this loss rate is more than 10 percent.

When drawing up the battle plan, the Indian Air Force felt that it could control the loss rate at about 1 percent, and at most not more than 2 percent.

That is, the Indian Air Force believes in the loss of up to ten fighters.

Compared to the heavy losses, the Indian Air Force has completed less than sixty percent of the strike missions, and it is debatable whether some of them were actually accomplished.

In addition, the Pakistani Air Force lost only a few fighters, which is completely negligible.

Obviously, the Pakistani Air Force still has enough combat power, while the Indian Air Force is at the end of its power, and continuing to launch a second round of strikes will only suffer more heavy losses.

Of course, this is also related to Pakistan's counterattack.

At the end of the first round of strikes, the Indian military found that ground forces deployed southwest of New Delhi and originally planned to act as a forward had suffered heavy losses.

That is, the ground offensive must be postponed.

If the ground offensive had to be postponed, the air strike would certainly have to be adjusted, and there would be no need for a second attack as originally planned.

Suffice it to say, the Indian Air Force did not take advantage of this raid.

At the end of the raid, the Indian Air Force found out that it was the same whether there was a raid or not, because it still had to compete with the Pakistani Air Force for air supremacy.

Whether it is offensive or defensive, air supremacy is required.

Next, whoever can control the air supremacy on the battlefield will be able to seize the initiative in the war and, soon after, achieve a major victory.