Pakistan's retired Air Marshal Masood Akhtar has admitted to losing the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft during India's Operation Sindoor on the intervening night of May 9 and 10.
Akhtar, during an interview with a Pakistani media, said that the aircraft that provided long-range radar surveillance and control of airspace, was destroyed in one of India's precision missile strikes at Islamabad's Bholari airbase.
"They (Indian forces) fired four back-to-back Brahmos surface-to-surface missiles or air-to-surface missiles, I am not sure. The Pakistani pilots rushed to secure their aircraft, but the missiles kept on coming, and unfortunately, the fourth one hit the hangar at Bholari airbase, where one of our AWACS was standing. It was damaged," he said in a video shared by Frontal Force on X - a platform that reports on ongoing conflicts.
The AWACS enables to detect aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles, and other incoming projectiles at long ranges. It also helps operators onboard and on the ground to identify, assess the threat, and take action.
After India launched precision cruise missile strikes at terror infrastructure to avenge the April 22 Pahalgam attack, Pakistan escalated the situation by attacking civilian areas in India with drones. In response, India hit selected military targets deep inside Pakistani territory such as radar installations, command and control centres, and ammunition depots in Rafiqui, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Bholari, and Sialkot among others.
While the Pakistani military has continuously downplayed the extent of damage caused by the Indian strikes, satellite images have shown the real picture.
According to the Indian military, the country's actions were the first instance of a country damaging air force camps of a nuclear country.
"Within three hours, 11 bases were attacked, including Nur Khan, Rafiqui, Murid, Sukkur, Sialkot, Pasrur, Chunian, Sargodha, Skaru, Bholari, and Jacobabad. It was time to convey some message to the adversary... hit where it would hurt. India's retaliation though was precise, and measured. We have the ability to target every system in the air bases, but we showed restraint to avoid escalation," Air Marshal AK Bharti said.
