Washington: India’s strikes on Pakistan damaged runways and structures across at least six airfields in the neighbouring country, claimed an analysis by Washington Post.
In retaliation for the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7. The operation targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier, the New York Times conceded that India had a “clear edge” in targeting Pakistan’s military facilities and airfields during the recent four-day confrontation. Both these media outlets have referred to satellite images in their reports. Indian armed forces have said that 11 Pakistani airbases were struck during the counter-strike.
Washington Post analysis of Indian strikes on Pakistan
The Washington Post conducted a visual analysis of the Indian strikes on Pakistan. It quoted experts as saying that attacks were the “most significant attacks of their kind in decades of simmering conflict between the South Asian rivals”.
“The review of more than two dozen satellite images and aftermath videos found that the strikes heavily damaged three hangars, two runways, and a pair of mobile buildings used by the air force. Some of the sites hit by India were as deep as 100 miles inside the country,” the Washington Post report said.
The report also cited a senior lecturer in international relations at King’s College London, Walter Ladwig, saying “the strikes marked “the most extensive Indian air attacks on Pakistani military infrastructure since the 1971 war.”
According to the report, William Goodhind, a geospatial analyst at Contested Ground, a research project that uses satellite imagery to track armed conflict, said India hit high-profile targets in precision strikes.
According to experts, Pakistan’s Nur Khan airbase was also struck. It is one of the most important ones in the country as it is the military’s central transport hub. This base is close to the Strategic Plans Division, the unit responsible for safeguarding the country’s nuclear warheads.
The report also confirmed that Bholari and Shahbaz air bases in Pakistan suffered severe damages. It claimed buildings used as aircraft hangars were destroyed. “A large hole nearly 60 feet wide is visible in the roof of a hangar at Bholari, which experts said was consistent with a missile impact,” the Washington Post report stated.
According to the military researcher, the Bholari hangar houses a Saab 2000 Airborne Early Warning and Control System aircraft.
Satellite imagery showed another large hole over 100 feet wide in a hangar at Shahbaz air base. Another hangar seemed to have been collapsed by a strike and an apparent radar site was destroyed at Sukkur Airport, Goodhind claimed.
Large craters in runways were left at Mushaf air base and Sheikh Zayed International Airport. According to images from the satellite firms Planet and Maxar, the craters at Mushaf seemed to be fixed or had been under repair since the day after.
