In a dramatic escalation of hostilities between South Asia’s nuclear-armed rivals, India launched a series of airstrikes on Pakistan that damaged military infrastructure at six airfields across the country, according to a comprehensive visual analysis by The Washington Post. Experts have described the operation as the most significant Indian air offensive since the 1971 war.
The strikes, which occurred on Saturday, targeted sites as deep as 100 miles inside Pakistani territory. Satellite imagery and video evidence reviewed by The Post confirmed extensive damage: three hangars, two runways, and mobile air force facilities were struck. Analysts said the operation appeared designed to degrade Pakistan’s offensive and defensive air capabilities with high-profile precision strikes.
"This represents a deliberate and expansive shift in India’s military strategy," said Walter Ladwig, an expert in South Asian security at King's College London. “New Delhi is now treating terrorist attacks as legitimate grounds for conventional military reprisals, beyond Kashmir.”
India claimed responsibility for hitting 11 Pakistani bases, including those at Nur Khan, Bholari, Shahbaz, Mushaf, Sukkur, and Sheikh Zayed International Airport. At Nur Khan air base near Islamabad, two mobile control centers were destroyed, an act seen by one defense analyst as a possible attempt to cripple Pakistan’s strategic command infrastructure. The base is located near Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, which oversees its nuclear arsenal.
Severe structural damage was observed at the Bholari and Shahbaz air bases. A missile left a 60-foot-wide hole in a Bholari hangar, which typically houses a high-value Saab 2000 surveillance aircraft. At Shahbaz, another hangar showed a breach over 100 feet wide, along with damage to a control tower. Sukkur Airport, which has both civilian and military functions, suffered a collapsed hangar and the destruction of a radar site. Craters from missile strikes were also seen on runways at Mushaf and Sheikh Zayed airports.
Pakistan’s military initially acknowledged infrastructure damage and later confirmed the deaths of six air force personnel. Military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said most missiles were intercepted, but “a few managed to sneak in.” He asserted that Pakistan retains full confidence in its air defense capabilities.
In retaliation, Pakistan launched counterstrikes on targets in Indian-administered Kashmir and Punjab. New Delhi has neither confirmed nor denied any losses. While Pakistan claims to have shot down five Indian warplanes, a Post analysis could only confirm the crash of two jets.
The air exchange followed a deadly April 22 militant attack in Kashmir that killed 26 civilians. India blamed Pakistan for harboring the attackers, a charge Islamabad denied, calling for an international investigation.
International observers, including officials in Washington, expressed alarm at the escalation, fearing the skirmish could spiral into a larger conflict. The situation de-escalated within hours after a ceasefire was brokered and announced by then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
The coordinated Indian air operation marks a new phase in the India-Pakistan conflict, one in which India appears increasingly willing to cross borders in response to terrorist provocations — a development that raises both strategic stakes and the risk of future confrontations.
