Chinese Troop Levels at LAC Fall as MoD Report Details Operation Sindoor Strikes

India’s Ministry of Defence has disclosed a significant drop in Chinese troop deployment along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) through 2025, alongside fresh details of last year’s Operation Sindoor, in its Annual Report 2025–26 released this week as Chinese President Xi Jinping departed New Delhi following the 18th BRICS Summit.

The report says the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) kept 10 combined-arms brigades facing the LAC through 2025, with another 10 brigades held back in traditional training areas — an estimated 45,000 to 50,000 Chinese soldiers at the frontier, with a comparable number in reserve further back. The ministry says that the decline to sustained India-China border engagements that have helped stabilise the frontier.

The 323-page document does not give a comparable figure for 2024, but earlier assessments had placed PLA strength above 60,000 troops in the Ladakh sector alone before the two sides signed a disengagement agreement in October 2024.

On India’s side, the report describes the Indian Army’s posture across all LAC sectors as “robust, well poised and prepared to deal with any emerging contingency,” noting that the Army’s own 10 brigade-sized formations are combined-arms units — self-sustaining forces spanning infantry, armour, artillery and air defence — capable of operating and responding independently along the northern frontier.

Operation Sindoor: A Joint, Multi-Domain Campaign

The report also lays out, in unusual detail, how the four-day Operation Sindoor unfolded between May 7 and 10, 2025 — India’s military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, including one Nepali national.

Air Force strikes: Under a section titled “Role of the IAF in Operation Sindoor,” the ministry says the Indian Air Force struck terror infrastructure across Pakistan, hitting targets including the Nur Khan and Rahimyar Khan air bases. Among the “important targets attacked,” four aircraft hangars housing fighter jets, an AEW&C platform and UCAVs were destroyed on May 10, 2025. The report also alleges Pakistan used civilian aircraft as cover during the exchange, while noting India took a measured approach to avoid endangering international air traffic.

Air defence: When Pakistan responded with what the ministry calls “coordinated drone and missile attacks” on military installations in Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir, the IAF’s Integrated Air Command and Control System coordinated a layered defence combining the indigenous Akash missile system with Pechora and OSA-AK platforms. Longer-range assets — the S-400 and Shaurya systems — neutralised multiple Pakistani aircraft and intercepted drones, missiles, UAVs and loitering munitions, allowing India to maintain air superiority through the operation.

Navy’s inland role: In a disclosure that underscores the operation’s jointness, the report reveals that Indian Navy MARCOS commandos, equipped with precision munitions, were deployed alongside Army units in Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab and took part in strikes on terror infrastructure on May 6–7. Separately, a Carrier Battle Group and submarines were forward-deployed in the North Arabian Sea in an offensive posture. Former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan had previously confirmed the MARCOS deployment in public remarks, saying naval personnel helped engage targets identified by the Army.

Stabilisation on the LoC: The report credits talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGsMO) of India and Pakistan on May 10 and 12, 2025, with helping stabilise the security situation in Jammu & Kashmir and along the Line of Control, while cautioning that the environment remains unpredictable and requires continued vigilance.

Lessons Learned

The ministry says Operation Sindoor exposed gaps in the domestic supply of niche unmanned aerial systems, counter-UAS technology and loitering munitions, prompting what it calls a “comprehensive review of capability voids” centred on force restructuring, enhanced jointness and integration of emerging technologies. The report frames “theatre-isation” — unifying command structures across the three services — as essential to future preparedness, stating it is needed “to meet future challenges and pave the way for seamless synergy between the services.”