'Blinded, numbed, paralysed': How Operation Sindoor set Pakistan air force back by five years

Time of India

28-05-2025

NEW DELHI: In just four days of high-intensity precision strikes, India's
Operation Sindoor
"blinded, numbed, and paralysed" Pakistan's air power, delivering a "five-year setback" to the
Pakistan air force
.
Launched in retaliation to missile strikes on military targets, the
Indian Air Force
's campaign was swift and surgical.
According to top security sources quoted by news agency ANI, the strikes crippled Pakistan's radar coverage, dismantled its command and control systems, and exposed glaring weaknesses in its Chinese and Turkish-supplied weaponry.
The operation was triggered after India struck terror hubs in Bahawalpur and Muridke on the night of May 6-7. Pakistan retaliated with missile strikes that were largely neutralised by India's layered air defence network.
But what followed stunned even seasoned military observers.
On the night of May 9-10, Indian jets and missiles targeted air bases across Pakistan, from Chaklala and Sargodha to Rahimyar Khan and Karachi. The strikes were carried out with air-launched cruise missiles, standoff weapons, and loitering munitions like the Harop and Harpy.
'Blinded and numbed'
The first objective: destroy Pakistan's radar and air defence grid. Indian weapons knocked out key Chinese-supplied HQ-9 missile sites and radar stations near Lahore, opening vast gaps in Pakistan's aerial surveillance.
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Undo
'They were flying blind,' said one source. 'Their air force was forced to fly deep inside their own territory, terrified of the S-400 and Akash systems deployed along our borders,' the source told ANI.
Turkish and Chinese drones launched by Pakistan were overwhelmed by India's active defence—from Siachen to Naliya. Even vintage L-70 and Zu-23 guns played a role in downing enemy drones.
By May 9, the focus shifted to destroying command and control centres at Chaklala, Murid, and Sargodha air bases.
Rampage and SCALP missiles fired from Mirage, Rafale, Su-30, and MiG-29 aircraft delivered surgical precision, breaking the chain of communication between airborne early-warning planes and ground control.
The strikes reportedly left Pakistani air command in disarray, unable to assess the battlefield, respond effectively, or even detect incoming threats.
'They were effectively paralysed,' a source said adding, 'Some PAF officers were even forced to rely on civilian aircraft corridors to shield their movement, a tactic born out of desperation.'
The tipping point
On May 10, around 1 am, Pakistan launched tactical surface-to-surface missiles targeting Indian bases at Adampur and strategic points in Gujarat and Punjab. But India's indigenous air defence systems intercepted most threats. In some cases, Pakistani missiles reportedly landed intact, retrieved later by civilians and handed over to Indian forces.
India's final wave of strikes hit deeper targets, including the Bholari air base, where a Saab 200 AEW&C aircraft and several Western-origin jets were destroyed inside a hangar.
At other bases, runway craters halted air operations for hours. Precision strikes were monitored via AWACS and satellites.
By dawn on May 10, Pakistan was scrambling. With its radar and C2 systems gutted, air assets damaged, and no clear response strategy, it quietly reached out to Indian officials, seeking a ceasefire.
'Pakistan and its backers were stunned, both by the scale and by India's readiness to escalate,' said a senior official.
According to sources, Operation Sindoor delivered not just a tactical blow but a strategic message: India had the reach, the intent, and the means to respond decisively. The damage assessment is still underway, but internal reviews suggest the Pakistani Air Force suffered a degradation equivalent to five years of capability loss - both in hardware and in morale.
As for India, the operation demonstrated a dramatic shift: from restraint to proactive dominance — with air and ground forces working in tandem to alter the equation, possibly for good.