'If Thomson don't get ya, Lillee must': DGMO on how India's multi-layered defence system repelled Pakistan attack

NEW DELHI: In a powerful statement highlighting the robustness of India's air defence capabilities, DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai invoked a cricket analogy from the 1970s to emphasise how India’s sophisticated, multi-layered defence system successfully repelled Pakistani aerial attacks. The military also presented striking visuals of the Rahim Yar Khan airbase, showing a massive crater caused by Indian missile strikes, alongside images of Nur Khan airbase, underscoring the significant impact of the Indian Air Force’s precision strikes.

"In the 1970s, during the Ashes between Australia and England, two Australian bowlers destroyed the batting lineup of England, and then Australia gave a proverb - 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if Thommo don't get ya, Lillee must'. If you see the layers, you'll understand what I am trying to say. Even if you crossed all the layers, one of the layers of this grid system will hit you," DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai said on Monday.

"Targeting our airfields and logistics is way too tough," he noted.

#WATCH | Delhi | DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai says, "Targetting our airfields and logistics is way too tough... I saw that Virat Kohli has just retired from test cricket; he is one of my favourites. In the 1970s, during the Ashes between Australia and England, two… pic.twitter.com/B3egs6IeOA

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2025

In the wake of Operation Sindoor, the military showed the debris believed to be from a PL-15 air-to-air missile, a Chinese-origin weapon reportedly deployed by Pakistan during the recent offensive against India. The wreckage of the Turkish-origin YIHA and Songar drones that were shot down by India were also shown.

#WATCH | Delhi | Air Marshal AK Bharti presents the composite picture of targets engaged by the Indian Air Force during #OperationSindoor pic.twitter.com/hBNJAFyLTD

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2025

Additionally, Air Marshal AK Bharti assured that "all our military bases, all our systems continue to remain fully operational and ready to undertake any future missions should the need so arise."

Highlighting the "stellar" performance of Akash system, Bharti said, "Our battle-proven systems stood the test of time and take them head on. Another highlight has been the stellar performance of the indigenous air defence system, the Akash system. Putting together and operationalising the potent AD environment has been possible only because of budgetary and policy support from the government of India in the last decade."

"Numerous waves of drones and unmanned combat aerial vehicles employed by Pakistan were also thwarted by the indigenously developed soft and hard kill counter-UAS systems and the well-trained Indian Air Defence personnel," he added.

India’s air defence network -- anchored by advanced systems such as the Russian-origin S-400, the indigenous Akash missile system , and the Israeli SPYDER system -- forms one of Asia’s most formidable multi-tiered shields against a wide range of aerial threats including drones, missiles, and aircraft.

This integrated system effectively thwarted all Pakistani aerial attempts during the recent conflict, demonstrating superior technological sophistication and operational readiness compared to Pakistan’s largely foreign-dependent air defence apparatus.

Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. Indian Armed Forces targeted nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and killed nearly 100 terrorists, as claimed by defence minister Rajnath Singh.