Electronic Ambush: Did Turkey’s KORAL EW Blinds Indian Fighters ?

Defence affairs - D.S.A

In a potentially game-changing development with far-reaching implications for regional air dominance, reports from Turkish defence circles allege that Pakistan has deployed the KORAL electronic warfare (EW) system—developed by Turkish defence powerhouse Aselsan—to blind Indian Air Force fighter radars prior to their engagement and destruction by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) assets.

Sources indicate that the KORAL system, known for its potent electronic disruption capabilities, was used not only to neutralize airborne radar but also to degrade the effectiveness of India’s terrestrial radar and military communications networks.

“In the pitch-black darkness of night, Indian pilots began to panic after suddenly losing radar contact and being unable to communicate with either their base or each other, leading to disorientation and rendering them easy targets for Pakistani air-to-air missiles,” the report claimed.

This assertion comes amid earlier media claims that no fewer than six IAF fighter jets—including the much-touted French-built Rafales—were downed in combat by PAF J-10C multirole fighters armed with China’s PL-15 beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missiles, widely considered among the most capable in its class.

Among the reported downed aircraft were three Rafales, alongside other IAF frontline platforms such as the Su-30MKI, MiG-29, and Mirage 2000—each forming a critical component of India’s layered air power.

New Delhi has officially refrained from acknowledging these losses, but during a high-profile interview with Bloomberg TV at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Indian Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan conceded that the IAF did lose fighter aircraft during the Pakistan-India confrontation.

He did not, however, divulge the quantity or models of aircraft involved, fuelling further speculation about the extent of India’s combat attrition.

Defence analysts cited in the report suggest that Pakistan may have employed the KORAL system to jam Indian fighter jets’ high-frequency (HF), very high-frequency (VHF), and ultra-high-frequency (UHF) communications—effectively crippling their ability to coordinate and execute combat flight plans.

The report further notes that the system’s directed energy pulses may have had a catastrophic impact on Indian platforms, potentially triggering crashes by disabling critical avionics such as GNSS, VOR/ILS, DME, 75 MHz marker beacons, ADS-B, TCAS, ELT, SATCOM, weather radar, and even onboard Wi-Fi systems at standoff distances.

Such a suite of EW effects would render night-time Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) navigation virtually impossible and increase the risk of terrain collisions—particularly in mountainous environments like Kashmir.

While Islamabad has not officially confirmed the operational deployment or possession of KORAL, defence ties between Turkey and Pakistan have deepened considerably in recent years, raising the likelihood that the system may indeed have been transferred and utilised in combat.