Narrative Contest After the India-Pakistan Air Battle: India's "Triple Win" and the S-400 Mystery

Everyone, India and Pakistan just had a skirmish a couple of days ago, and this aerial battle is truly thought-provoking. As soon as Pakistan made its move, the results reported by foreign media were "6 to 0." Pakistan itself was very happy and even made a 3D-printed mockery. This is actually a win-win for us too—no fight, no acquaintance; we also got a chance to see some real capabilities. India, on the other hand, celebrated too early. The Modi government sent seven delegations around the world to preach "great victory" and talk big about "those who offend us will be punished no matter how far away." But the problem is, Indian aircraft get "locked on" as soon as they take off. Pakistan probably didn't want to escalate things too much either, so it stopped short of taking more and just asked you not to send more. India responded to photos of aircraft wreckage with a denial "one-click triple combo": there wasn't any, don't talk nonsense. As for claims that the S400 air defense system was breached? The Modi coalition busied itself taking photos with S400 launchers to try to refute the rumors. But everyone knows that radars and command systems are the high-value strike targets—who cares about hitting your launcher frames? India's early warning radars, command centers, and fire-control radars—the Modi coalition not only refused to show them, but also fobbed people off with old photos from the 1960s. Then an Indian military journalist posted a photo with a radar vehicle, and it turned out to be an old photo from six years ago. The handling was baffling. So some people used satellite images to press the question: was your S400 breached or not? The Modi coalition insisted that the operators died on the front line in Kashmir, not at an air base that was attacked. But no one could answer a basic question: what is an air defense system operator doing going to the front line to fire guns? Presenting facts and evidence seems to be completely useless in front of India—if he says he won, then you lost. What this aerial battle leaves to the outside world, apart from the tug-of-war over whether the battle results are true or false, is a model of narrative warfare: what cannot be gained on the battlefield may not necessarily be made up for in the court of public opinion.