Greece's formal request for combat data from India's Operation Sindoor represents a significant development in contemporary military cooperation, highlighting how successful precision strike operations can influence international defence partnerships.

The Greek Air Force General Staff's behind-the-scenes efforts to access operational details and tactics from India's May 2025 military campaign demonstrates the evolving nature of strategic alliances, where combat-proven methodologies become valuable diplomatic and military assets. This unprecedented request underscores the effectiveness of India's surgical strikes against Pakistani terrorist infrastructure and air defence systems, which have garnered international attention as a model for precision warfare in contested environments.

The collaboration between Greece and India, both nations operating French-made Rafale fighter aircraft, signals a new paradigm in defence cooperation where shared military technologies facilitate knowledge transfer and strategic partnership development.

Combat Effectiveness of Operation Sindoor

Operation Sindoor emerged as India's decisive military response to a devastating terrorist attack that fundamentally altered the strategic calculus in South Asia. On April 22, 2025, the Pakistan-based terrorist group "The Resistance Front" (TRF), an offshoot of the well-known Pakistan-backed terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, perpetrated a devastating attack in Pahalgam, India, killing 26 innocent tourists in cold blood after segregating them based on their religion. The terrorist organisation's brazen claim of responsibility, made twice within hours of the attack, coupled with Pakistan's subsequent refusal to acknowledge or curb these terrorist networks, compelled India to take what it characterised as "responsible but resolute action".

The Indian government's response came in the form of Operation Sindoor, executed during the night of May 7-8, 2025, representing a calibrated yet decisive military intervention. The operation was specifically designed to be "non-escalatory, precise and targeted," focusing exclusively on terrorist training camps at nine different locations within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, while deliberately avoiding military targets. This strategic approach demonstrated India's commitment to proportional response while maintaining escalation control, a tactical decision that would later influence international perceptions of the operation's legitimacy and effectiveness.

The operation's immediate aftermath revealed the complexity of modern asymmetric warfare, as Pakistan escalated the conflict by launching coordinated drone and missile strikes targeting over a dozen Indian military installations across the Northern and Western theatres, including Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bathinda, and Bhuj. India's robust Integrated Counter-drone Grid and layered Air Defence systems successfully intercepted these attacks, with recovered debris conclusively traced to Pakistani origin, providing tangible evidence of Pakistan's aggressive response and justifying India's subsequent counter-strikes against Pakistani Air Defence systems.

Greece's Strategic Interest In Indian Combat Data

The Greek Air Force General Staff's pursuit of operational intelligence from Operation Sindoor reflects a sophisticated understanding of modern warfare requirements and the value of combat-proven tactics in contemporary military planning. Greece's request specifically targets access to operational details and tactics used during the Indian campaign, with the explicit goal of upgrading training scenarios and further familiarising Greek pilots with real-world engagement conditions based on authentic environments and threats. This initiative demonstrates Greece's recognition that theoretical military training must be supplemented with insights derived from actual combat operations to maintain operational readiness in an increasingly volatile geopolitical environment.

Greece's current military posture, featuring two Rafale squadrons, positions the nation to benefit significantly from India's operational experience, particularly in precision strike capabilities, deep penetration missions, and deterrence operations. The Indian experience in Operation Sindoor, conducted in an environment of high geopolitical tension against a nuclear-armed adversary, provides what Greek military planners consider an ideal combat manual for their own strategic requirements. The operational parallels between Greece's security challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean and India's concerns regarding cross-border terrorism create a natural foundation for military cooperation and knowledge sharing.

The timing of Greece's request coincides with broader geopolitical realignments, as a former Greek ambassador has advocated for Greece and India to "act as a bulwark against Erdogan and enhance cooperation in the military field, particularly in air force cooperation". This perspective reflects Greece's strategic calculation that access to Indian combat data would provide significant advantages in potential confrontations with regional adversaries, particularly given the shared experience of operating French-made Rafale aircraft in complex operational environments.

Conclusion

Greece's request for combat data from India's Operation Sindoor represents a significant development in contemporary defence cooperation, demonstrating how successful military operations can generate strategic influence and partnership opportunities beyond their immediate tactical context. The Indian Air Force's precise execution of Operation Sindoor, utilising Rafale fighter jets equipped with SCALP and HAMMER missiles, has created a compelling case study in modern precision warfare that Greece seeks to understand and potentially adapt for its own strategic requirements. The operation's success in achieving strategic objectives while maintaining escalation control provides valuable lessons for nations facing similar security challenges in volatile regional environments.

The potential for Greece-India defence cooperation extends beyond simple information sharing to encompass comprehensive strategic partnership development, leveraging shared Rafale aircraft platforms and compatible operational requirements to enhance collective security capabilities. The international recognition of Operation Sindoor's effectiveness, validated by prominent defence experts and demonstrated through material impact on adversary capabilities, has transformed the operation from a regional military action into a global reference point for precision warfare and strategic deterrence. This transformation creates opportunities for broader defence cooperation that could influence regional security architectures in both the Mediterranean and South Asian contexts.

The success of Operation Sindoor in demonstrating that measured but decisive military action can achieve strategic objectives while avoiding unnecessary escalation provides Greece with a valuable operational model for addressing its own security challenges. The combination of advanced weapons systems, precise tactical execution, and strategic restraint exemplified by the Indian operation offers lessons that extend beyond immediate military applications to encompass broader diplomatic and security policy considerations. As Greece and India explore opportunities for defence cooperation, Operation Sindoor serves as both a catalyst for partnership development and a demonstration of the strategic value that successful military operations can generate in contemporary international relations.

IDN (With Agency Inputs)