SOURCE: AFI
On the morning of May 10, 2025, as India’s Operation Sindoor reached its crescendo, a striking satellite image captured the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) desperate attempt to shield its assets from relentless Indian strikes. The image, taken over Chaklala Air Base in Islamabad (also known as Nur Khan Air Base), shows a PAF C-130 Hercules awkwardly positioned in a hangar clearly not designed for its size—its nose protruding out, unable to fully conceal the aircraft. This visual evidence in the satellite imagery, underscores the PAF’s struggle to protect its critical assets amid a severe shortage of suitable hangars, as India’s precision strikes targeted airbases across Pakistan during the May 7–10 conflict.
The satellite image from May 10 reveals the PAF’s dire situation at Chaklala. The C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop transport aircraft with a wingspan of over 40 meters, was awkwardly stuffed into a hangar far too small for its dimensions. The aircraft’s nose protrudes visibly from the hangar entrance, leaving it exposed and vulnerable—a clear sign of the PAF’s lack of adequate infrastructure to conceal such a large asset. This hangar, likely intended for smaller aircraft like fighters or helicopters, was a poor fit for the Hercules, which is typically used for troop transport, medical evacuation, and cargo delivery.
The image highlights a critical shortfall in Pakistan’s airbase infrastructure: not enough hangars to accommodate its fleet during a crisis. With other hangars at Chaklala already filled with “more important assets”—likely fighter jets such as F-16s, JF-17s, or Mirage aircraft—the PAF was forced to make do with suboptimal arrangements for its C-130. This decision, however, left the aircraft partially exposed, negating the purpose of concealment and making it an easy target for Indian reconnaissance and potential follow-up strikes.
Why the PAF Struggled to Hide Its Assets
Chaklala Air Base, located near Islamabad, serves as a primary hub for PAF transport and logistics operations, housing several C-130s alongside other aircraft. However, the base’s infrastructure was not designed to withstand a sustained assault like Operation Sindoor. Several factors contributed to the PAF’s inability to adequately protect its fleet:
- Limited Hangar Space: Chaklala, while a major base, lacks sufficient hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) or large hangars to accommodate all its aircraft, especially larger ones like the C-130. With India targeting multiple airbases simultaneously, the PAF was forced to prioritize its most valuable assets—fighters and AWACS—leaving transport aircraft like the C-130 with inadequate protection.
- Relocation Challenges: As India’s strikes intensified, the PAF began relocating assets to less vulnerable bases, but Chaklala remained a key hub due to its proximity to military headquarters in Rawalpindi. The base’s strategic importance made it a prime target, and the PAF’s attempt to hide the C-130 suggests a last-ditch effort to preserve at least some of its transport capabilities.
- Indian Intelligence and Targeting: India’s use of satellite imagery, drones, and other intelligence-gathering methods allowed it to track PAF movements with precision. The exposed C-130 in the satellite image demonstrates that even the PAF’s attempts at concealment were futile against India’s advanced reconnaissance capabilities.
The satellite image of the C-130 is part of a broader effort to document the aftereffects of Operation Sindoor across all targeted PAF airbases. Analysts are compiling a comprehensive report using space-based imagery to assess the full extent of the damage inflicted on Pakistan’s air force infrastructure. Early findings confirm significant losses, including the destruction of a C-130 at Nur Khan (Chaklala) Air Base, as noted by Tom Cooper, alongside other aircraft like a Mirage, Mirage 5, JF-17C, F-16, and a Saab 2000 AWACS at Bholari Air Base. The exposed C-130 in the hangar, however, highlights not just material losses but the PAF’s operational desperation during the conflict.
The image of the C-130 “hiding face” in an ill-suited hangar is more than a tactical blunder—it’s a symbol of the PAF’s broader vulnerabilities. The lack of sufficient hangars and hardened shelters at key bases like Chaklala exposes a critical gap in Pakistan’s military infrastructure, one that India exploited with devastating effect during Operation Sindoor. The PAF’s inability to protect its transport fleet, a backbone of its logistics and rapid deployment capabilities, could hinder its operational readiness in future conflicts.
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