SOURCE: AFI
In a sobering assessment, Pakistan’s prominent defence analyst Bilal Khan has acknowledged the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) formidable capability to neutralize the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in a potential conflict. Khan’s remarks come in the wake of India’s Operation Sindoor (May 7–10, 2025), during which the IAF conducted precision strikes on 12 PAF airbases, demonstrating its ability to ground Pakistan’s air assets and exposing critical vulnerabilities in Pakistan’s air defence network. The operation, a response to a terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians, has underscored India’s technological and strategic superiority, raising alarm bells in Islamabad about the PAF’s readiness for a full-scale war.
Operation Sindoor saw the IAF deploy a range of advanced munitions, including BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, French-origin SCALP cruise missiles, and Harop loitering munitions, to target key PAF airbases, including those at Sargodha, Kamra, Murid, and Rafiqui. The strikes, executed with surgical precision, destroyed critical infrastructure such as runways, command-and-control centers, and Chinese-supplied air defence systems like the HQ-9B and HQ-16. A Chinese YLC-8E anti-stealth radar in Chunian, Punjab, was also obliterated, highlighting the IAF’s ability to penetrate and dismantle Pakistan’s Comprehensive Layered Integrated Air Defence (CLIAD).
Bilal Khan, known for his incisive analyses of South Asian military dynamics, noted that the IAF’s strikes demonstrated a “clear ability to ground PAF jets in a war scenario.” The operation not only disrupted Pakistan’s air operations but also exposed the PAF’s reliance on outdated infrastructure and underperforming Chinese systems. Social media posts and open-source intelligence (OSINT) reports have corroborated the extensive damage, with satellite imagery showing craters, destroyed hangars, and immobilized aircraft at multiple PAF bases.
Khan’s analysis highlights the IAF’s operational superiority and the PAF’s precarious position. He emphasized that the IAF’s ability to strike 12 airbases simultaneously reflects a level of coordination, intelligence, and firepower that Pakistan struggles to match.
Khan also noted the IAF’s effective use of SEAD tactics, which neutralized Pakistan’s air defence network by targeting radars and command nodes. The Harop loitering munitions, often referred to as “kamikaze drones,” played a key role in destroying high-value targets, including SAM batteries and radar installations. This multi-layered approach—combining cruise missiles, drones, and EW—demonstrated the IAF’s ability to overwhelm the PAF’s defenses and ground its aircraft before they could even take off.
The implications of Operation Sindoor are profound for Pakistan’s defence strategy. Khan warned that the PAF’s inability to protect its airbases raises serious questions about its operational readiness in a full-scale conflict. With 12 of its key bases targeted, including those housing JF-17 and J-10C squadrons, the PAF’s ability to mount a credible counteroffensive was severely compromised.
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