New Delhi: It was over in minutes. On May 7, 2025, India unleashed a storm during Operation Sindoor. The BrahMos missile, a supersonic weapon feared for its speed and accuracy, sliced through Pakistan’s air defenses like they were not even there. By the time the operation ended on May 10, 11 of Pakistan’s 13 Air Force bases had been hit. Chinese-made HQ-9B and HQ-16 systems were crippled. Panic spread in Islamabad.
Now, Pakistan is scrambling. With its air shield shattered, Islamabad is eyeing European technology. Two systems – Italy’s CAMM-ER and Germany’s IRIS-T – top the list. The stakes? National survival in the face of a weapon designed to be unstoppable.
The BrahMos did not only break through. It humiliated. Flying at Mach 3, low to the ground, nearly invisible to radar and almost impossible to intercept, it hit with surgical precision. Pakistan’s multi-layered CLIAD system did not stand a chance.
This was not the first wake-up call. In 2022, an unarmed BrahMos strayed into Pakistani airspace. It flew 124 km without being touched. Officials in Pakistan downplayed it. Operation Sindoor made that impossible.
Italy’s CAMM-ER is flexible. It can launch from land, sea or air. It can hit targets up to 45 km away and can dodge jamming. It has NATO backing and a vertical launch style that reduces detection. On paper, it is solid. But in reality, it maybe not fast enough. Against something like BrahMos? That is a tough ask.
Still, its affordability and adaptability give it points. For a country balancing military urgency with economic crisis, that matters.
Then there is Germany’s IRIS-T. Built by Diehl Defence, this one is combat-tested. In Ukraine, it took down over 60 Russian drones and missiles. It has got infrared eyes. It does not only see but also hunts.
Unlike CAMM-ER, IRIS-T uses imaging infrared seekers. It knows how to tell decoys from real threats. Thrust-vectoring makes it highly agile, a must when tracking something like BrahMos. The SLM version hits at 40 km and up to 20 km altitude.
In May, it intercepted eight Russian cruise missiles in just 30 seconds. Ukraine swears by it. Pakistan sees hope in it.
IRIS-T has a story to tell. In Ukraine, it faced Russian missiles with similar DNA to BrahMos. It won. That is credibility money cannot buy. It is also more likely to handle BrahMos’ evasion tricks than CAMM-ER’s radar-guided approach.
Germany and Pakistan are not strangers. They have trade, they have talks and now they may have deals. Defense insiders hint that Germany is willing to overlook diplomatic friction with India if the price is right.
Also, there is the dream of local production.
IRIS-T is elite. And it is priced like it. One battery costs €178 million (58,66,86,220 Pakistani rupees). Pakistan does not have the luxury of printing blank cheques. Even if it buys a few units, it will not be enough to cover all key sites. That is a logistical nightmare.
Then comes the geopolitics. Germany is in talks with India on submarines under Project 75I. Selling to Pakistan may ruffle feathers. But behind closed doors, Berlin seems to be choosing economics over diplomacy.
Even if Pakistan gets IRIS-T, it will not be a silver bullet. BrahMos, especially its newer extended-range version, can hit from 800 km away. That is twice the range of what IRIS-T can defend against. Pakistan will still need layers. More HQ-9Bs, maybe even a new system entirely.
For now, it is a race. Pakistan knows it cannot afford another surprise like Operation Sindoor. It does not need perfection. It needs a fighting chance. And it needs it fast.
