Around three thousand Agniveers recruited under the Agnipath scheme in the past two years, led from the front in Operation Sindoor. The Agniveers, mostly from the youth aged nearly 20 years, shielded India’s military establishments from Pakistan’s missile and drone strikes.
The youngsters, inducted under the scheme, held the Indian military fort during the four-day military retaliation in a befitting reply to the terror breeding ground, Pakistan. The Air Defence (AD) Units had nearly two hundred Agniveers present. The Akashteer, which proved to be India’s trump card in its response to Pakistan, was operated with the assistance of tenacious agniveers, which paid dividends.
The Agniveer soldiers also showed grit and determination in AD units they were deployed along the western front, which were gunners, operators of fire control, operators radio and drivers of heavy-duty vehicles mounted with guns and missiles. They eliminated targets with shoulder-fired missiles and manned and fired guns. In addition to manning radars and Akashteer nodes, the young agniveers operated the Pechora, Schilka, OSA-AK, Strela, and Tunguska missiles, as well as the medium-range surface-to-air missile system. They also played a vital role in operating the communication network and driving vehicles used for transporting and firing missiles, including Akash.
