How India 'Blinded and Paralysed' Pak Air Force in Four Days

In the four-day conflict, the Indian Air Force carried out operations in a clinical manner, which led to major destruction of the Pakistani Air Force both on the ground and in the air, sources in the defence and security establishment told ANI.

The major action took place between the two sides on the intervening night of May 9th-10th and continued till the afternoon of May 10th, wherein air bases along the length and breadth of Pakistan were targeted by India—conveying a strong message that "we (India) can go deep, we can go wide and you (Pakistan) can do nothing about it."

After India attacked terror bases in Pakistan on the night of May 6th-7th, including terror hubs in Bahawalpur and Muridke in Pakistani Punjab, the Pakistani side retaliated by firing missiles at military targets in India. These failed to leave a mark due to a strong multi-tier Air Defence system.

The Indian Air Force decided that in retaliation, it would first deal with the air defence network of the Pakistan Army, which is deployed along the entire border with India. This network includes old American-origin and Chinese radars and surface-to-air missiles of Chinese origin, including the HQ-9s with a maximum range of over 250 km.

Sources told ANI that the Indian Air Force used multiple methods to neutralize the air defence radars by targeting radar stations in the Pakistani Punjab area. Four to five of these were taken out by Harop and Harpy loitering munitions. The targets destroyed also included a launcher site of the Chinese air defence missile system.

The targeting of the air defence network, including those in Lahore, created major gaps in the Pakistan Air Force's capability to monitor Indian activities from May 7th to 8th onwards. However, "blinded" by the destruction of its radar network in major areas, the Pakistani Air Force was still flying deep within their territory to avoid the wrath of Sudarshan S-400, Saksham, Shaurya, Samar, and Akash air defence missiles deployed strategically on the front.

On the evening of May 8, the Pakistanis responded with Turkish and Chinese drones to saturate Indian air defence networks, but failed. The entire Indian air defence network from Siachen to Naliya was highly active, including small-calibre L-70 and Zu-23 air defence guns which inflicted major damage on Pakistani drone attacks, along with bigger air defence weapons of the Air Force and Army.

The Indian Army was also causing significant damage to the Pakistan Army and keeping it fully engaged in areas opposite Jammu and Kashmir, using its artillery guns and rocket launchers overwhelmingly.

On May 9th, the Indian Air Force shifted into aggressive mode by destroying the command and control (C2) centres of the Pakistan Air Force at Chaklala, Sargodha, and Murid air bases. These centres were responsible for providing a battlefield picture to the Pakistan air defence networks that had already been heavily impacted.

The C2 centres were taken out by three major weapons, including the world’s fastest air-launched supersonic cruise missiles—Rampage and Scalp. The Mirages, Rafales, Su-30s, and MiG-29s, which have been equipped with these missiles in recent years, were used in these precision strikes.

The extensive damage to these C2 centres "numbed" the Pakistani Air Force as it lost the ability to communicate or see a complete battlefield picture. There was no link between PAF’s Airborne Early Warning and Control System aircraft and ground stations. Fear of the Sudarshan S-400 from the May 6-7 attacks had already forced Pakistani aircraft to stay deep within their airspace, often resorting to flying near civilian aircraft.

Around 1 AM on the night of May 9-10, the Pakistan Air Force attempted to launch attacks using surface-to-surface tactical missiles and fighter aircraft. They targeted Adampur base and two high-value assets in Punjab and Gujarat. However, Indian indigenous air defence missiles successfully intercepted the Chinese-made weapons.

Sources said the quality of Pakistani weapons was so poor that some of them fell nearly intact and were recovered by locals, who handed them over to Indian forces.

On the morning of May 10, the Indian Air Force began another phase of its operation aimed at creating a "decision paralysis" in Pakistan. This included strikes on Pakistani air bases in Sargodha, Rafiqui, Rahim Yar Khan, Jacobabad, Bholari, and a cantonment in Karachi. The attacks were carried out from deep inside Indian territory using long-range, precision weapons—not surface-to-surface missiles.

These strikes caused major destruction with pinpoint accuracy. The Bholari air base was hit at a hangar housing a Saab 200 AEW&C radar aircraft and at least 3-4 Western-origin fighter jets. The damage was so extensive that Pakistan has yet to begin removing the debris from inside the hangar.

At another air base in the Punjab sector, three missiles targeted different parts of the runway, grounding aircraft for at least eight hours. The Indian attacks were monitored via satellites and Indian AWACS aircraft.

From the outset of Operation Sindoor, the top Indian leadership had made it clear that the strikes on terrorist hubs and supportive institutions had to be significant enough to send a stern message to their backers in the Pakistani military.

Missile damage, shown mainly on social media and Pakistani channels, revealed missiles breaching buildings with pinpoint rooftop holes—similar to the one observed in the Jaish-e-Mohammed building in Balakot in 2019—causing massive internal destruction.

Special munitions used in radar station and air defence network destruction were equipped with in-built tracking and observation systems, providing video evidence that was shown to top political and military leadership.

Sources said the strikes have taken the Pakistani Air Force back by at least five years and inflicted heavy losses on their Chinese and Turkish weapon inventory, which proved ineffective even against vintage Indian Pechora and OSA-AK air defence systems of Russian origin.

The full capabilities of the Sudarshan S-400 air defence systems came to light during the night of May 9-10, with the system reportedly intercepting various missiles and aircraft at long range. Sudarshan may have set a record in performance, according to sources.

A technical analysis of all targets engaged by Indian missiles is currently underway, with the Indian Air Force wanting to be "500 per cent sure" before releasing official statements.

The unexpected assertiveness of the Indian Air Force in the skies and the Indian Army on the ground prompted Pakistani officials and their Western interlocutors to request a ceasefire by the early morning of May 10. They were reportedly in contact with their Indian national security counterparts.

Sources added that a “large package of aircraft from North to South” was involved in the strikes, using long-range vectors that delivered the intended message forcefully and effectively.