India’s Operation Sindoor: Western Expert Reactions and the Element of Surprise In May 2025, India executed Operation Sindoor, a series of precision strikes targeting Pakistani military facilities, including key airbases and radar sites, in response to alleged Pakistani aggression, notably the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. The operation marked a significant escalation from India’s 2019 Balakot airstrikes, targeting high-value military infrastructure deep inside Pakistan’s Punjab and Sindh provinces. Western experts, including defense analysts, military historians, and South Asia specialists, reacted with a mix of strategic approval, geopolitical concern, and surprise at the operation’s scale, precision, and audacity. This note synthesizes insights from expert reactions, focusing on their analyses rather than media narratives, and explores why the strikes caught Western circles off-guard despite ongoing monitoring of South Asian military capabilities. I...