Turkey helped plan drone strikes on India, sent military operatives to Pakistan: Sources

Turkey supplied more than 350 drones and deployed military operatives to support Pakistan during its four-day conflict with India earlier this month, sources told India Today TV. The assistance included operational coordination and drone warfare tactics, marking a direct military role by Turkey in the hostilities.

Two Turkish military operatives were killed during India's precision military campaign under Operation Sindoor, sources added. “This will not be disclosed by Pakistan,” they said.

According to Indian intelligence inputs, Turkish advisors were actively involved in helping Pakistani military officials plan and coordinate drone attacks against Indian targets. These attacks were launched following India’s May 7 strikes that targeted terror camps deep inside Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam massacre.

Pakistan reportedly deployed Bayraktar TB2 and YIHA drones in its retaliatory wave. The drones were used for surveillance, target marking, and in some cases, kamikaze-style attacks aimed at Indian forward positions and military convoys.

Turkey’s defence cooperation with Pakistan has intensified in recent years, extending beyond arms transfers to include military training and joint planning. This escalation, Indian officials say, raises serious security concerns in the region.

“On the intervening nights of May 7 and 8, the Pakistan Army used around 300–400 drones to target Indian military infrastructure along the northern and western borders,” said Colonel Sofiya Qureshi at a media briefing on Operation Sindoor.

She added, “Forensic investigation of the wreckage of the drones is being done. Initial reports suggest that they are Turkish Asisguard Songar drones. The Indian armed forces shot down many of these drones using kinetic and non-kinetic means. The possible purpose of such large-scale aerial intrusions was to test air defence systems and collect intelligence.”

In response to Turkey’s military involvement, India on Wednesday blocked access to Turkish state broadcaster TRT’s account on the social media platform X. 
The Indian Army earlier confirmed that Pakistani strikes during the conflict targeted 36 military locations from Leh to Sir Creek using Turkish-made drones.

The crackdown extended to China as well. India also blocked the X accounts of Chinese state-run media outlets Xinhua and Global Times, citing the spread of disinformation and Pakistani propaganda despite repeated warnings from the Indian Embassy in Beijing.