NEW DELHI, May 22 -- More than 3,000 Agniveers --- barely 20 years old and recruited during the last two years --- manned critical weapons and systems integral to the army's hardy air defence (AD) shield activated during Operation Sindoor, which Pakistan couldn't punch through despite launching wave after wave of missile and drone attacks on multiple Indian military installations, airbases and cities during the May 7-10 clash between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, people aware of the matter said on Wednesday. The young and gritty soldiers, recruited under the Agnipath model, made their training count at a pivotal moment and acquitted themselves honourably in different roles during the four-day military confrontation that had sparked fears of a full-blown shooting war with Pakistan, said one of the persons cited above, asking not to be named. "The Agniveers faced a baptism of fire and helped ward off the enemy's attempts to target our bases and cities. Feedback from the army's frontline AD units shows they have earned their spurs, and their performance was on a par with regular soldiers. This should settle the debate around the Agnipath scheme," he said. Several of the AD units that fended off the Pakistani missile and drone attacks had 150-200 Agniveers each in their ranks, HT learns. Operation Sindoor, which began in the early hours of May 7, was New Delhi's muscular response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. It triggered four days of strikes and counterstrikes with fighter jets, missiles, drones, long-range weapons and heavy artillery before the two sides reached an understanding on stopping all military action on May 10. The Agnipath recruitment model, for long a political hot button, was introduced around three years ago with the stated objective of keeping the armed forces young and battle-ready. Agnipath was a major departure from the military's decades-old recruitment system that was scrapped when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government announced the new scheme in June 2022. It recruits soldiers for only four years, with a provision to retain 25% of them in regular service for another 15 years. The Agniveers helped operationalise the locally developed air defence control and reporting system, called Akashteer, which emerged as the centrepiece of India's AD grid during the clash, said a second person, who also asked not to be named. The Agniveers posted in AD units deployed along the western front specialised in four main trades: gunners, operator fire control, operator radio and drivers of heavy-duty vehicles mounted with guns and missiles, the people said. They excelled in each of these roles. The Agniveers, alongside the regular soldiers, took down targets with shoulder-fired missiles; manned and fired guns including the upgraded L-70s and Zu-23-2Bs; operated the Pechora, Schilka, OSA-AK, Strela and Tunguska weapons, and the medium-range surface-to-air missile system; they operated a variety of radars and manned Akashteer nodes; were an integral part of the communication network; and drove vehicles used for transporting and launching missiles, including Akash, the people said. The drivers also doubled as sentries after the weapon systems were deployed in the combat zone. The confrontation also marked a baptism of fire for the Akashteer system --- inducted only a year ago; it punctured multiple waves of Pakistani aerial attacks by guaranteeing prompt detection and targeting of the incoming threats. The army bought the automated system from Bharat Electronics Limited for Rs 1,982 crore. The agile system, an integral part of the Indian military's multi-layered AD grid, played a pivotal role in detecting, identifying, tracking and engaging Pakistani missiles and drones. The system essentially integrates a raft of AD sensors and weapons, expedites decision-making and tightens the sensor-to-shooter loop for swift detection and destruction of hostile targets. It is integrated with the Indian Air Force's Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS), the beating heart of the military's four-tiered AD shield that Pakistan couldn't penetrate. "Akashteer is a combination of hardware and software systems in mobile command posts with fully integrated high-tech communication systems. It sharpened the army's posture and allowed it to control the AD battle by providing ground units (which had Agniveers, among others) with the complete battle picture to respond in a swift and integrated way to neutralise the threats," a senior official earlier said. Pakistan launched missiles and drones in its attempt to target several locations in India's north and west including Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj. The locally produced military hardware that packed a formidable punch during the military confrontation with Pakistan included Akash surface-to-air missiles, the Samar (surface-to-air missile for assured retaliation) system and several counter-drone weapons. The threats countered by the Indian forces included Chinese-origin PL-15 air-to-air missiles, long-range rockets, loitering munitions, and Turkish-origin drones. India's AD grid operated with multiple weapons across four levels, depending on the distance of the incoming target. The weapons that formed part of the grid included the S-400 system. The Pakistan Army attempted to target Golden Temple in Amritsar with long-range missiles and drones on the night of May 7-8, but India's AD shield fended off the attacks. India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 when the army and IAF hit nine terror camps inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing more than 100 terrorists. And between the strike on the terror sites and the calling of the ceasefire on May 10, the IAF struck multiple military targets in Pakistan. The nine terror camps hit by the Indian forces with a mix of missiles and smart munitions included Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, Markaz Taiba near Muridke, Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot, Sawai Nala and Syed Na Bilal in Muzaffarabad, Gulpur and Abbas in Kotli, Barnala in Bhimber, and Sarjal. The IAF struck targets at 13 airbases and military installations in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur, Sialkot, Skardu, Sargodha, Jacobabad, Bholari and Malir Cantt in Karachi; the worst hit that Pakistan took after the 1971 war....