Satellite images show damage India wrought on Pakistan military
Damien Symon, a geo-intelligence researcher, said the imagery provided by defence ministry confirmed a series of well-executed precision airstrikes in Pakistan.
Satellite imagery released by India’s defence ministry and commercial service providers on Sunday confirmed a series of precision strikes carried out by the Indian side on eight key Pakistani airbases on May 10, hours before the two sides reached an understanding on halting all military actions.
India’s military targeted the eight Pakistani airbases with missiles and other long-range weapons in retaliation for Pakistan’s attempts to strikes 26 military facilities early on May 10, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The Indian strikes exposed the “massive gap” between the technological and military sophistication and application of power by the armed forces of the two sides, the people said.
Damien Symon, a geo-intelligence researcher at The Intel Lab, said the imagery provided by India’s defence ministry confirmed a series of well-executed precision airstrikes targeting several Pakistani military facilities.
“The strikes appear intentionally designed to neutralise specific military infrastructure while avoiding collateral damage,” Symon said.
At the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, a likely operations-related building and vehicles were “visibly impacted”. Symon said: “The vehicles were destroyed while the building compound showed signs of damage.”
The airstrip at the airbase at Sargodha in Punjab province was hit at two points, likely disabling take-offs and landings until repairs to the runway are completed. The Shahbaz airbase at Jacobabad in Sindh province “suffered a strike on a hangar located adjacent to the ATC tower”, though the traffic control facility remained structurally unharmed, Symon said after analysing the imagery.
At the airbase at Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab province, there was “extensive damage” to the runway, with the “underlying structural layers exposed an indicator of long-term disruption”, Symon said.
The people cited above said the facility at Rahim Yar Khan was hit the hardest, with the “runway being totalled”.
At the airbase at Sukkur in Sindh province, a UAV storage depot “endured considerable damage, with roof damage and scattered debris evident”, Symon said.
In the case of the airbase at Bholari in southern Sindh province, a hangar that is possibly used for airborne early warning systems or maintenance work showed “serious structural impairment with debris scattered all around”, Symon said.
In addition to the strikes on the eight airbases, the satellite imagery showed that the Indian military apparently targeted radar installations that were “likely tied to Pakistan’s early warning and surveillance systems” and this will cause potential disruption to the Pakistan Air Force’s monitoring and operations, he said.
