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India Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
The battle for air superiority
As the dust settles over the India-Pakistan conflict—triggered by India's missile strikes on nine terrorist hubs in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Punjab province in response to the Islamabad-sponsored terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April—it is time for a reckoning of how the two adversaries fared. Uniquely, over four intense, dramatic days (May 7-10), the theatre of war was the skies on either side of the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border. Airpower was the key factor, manifested not in the dogfights of yore, but their modern equivalent, comprising precise strikes, electronic warfare and smart coordination between aircraft, ground radars and airborne early warning and control system (AEW&CS)/ Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. Drones and missiles were used aplenty by Pakistan, and India's multi-layered air defence (AD) system rose to the occasion like never before. According to the Indian Army, its air defence units neutralised nearly 800-900 Pakistani drones during Operation Sindoor.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
What Happens To The Air Force's Strangest Plane Now That It's Being Replaced?
Sometimes, the military comes up with some truly insane ideas -- that work. What if you stuck an airport on a boat? Now, aircraft carriers rule the seas. Okay, what if you stuck a radar station on a plane? That gave us a type of aircraft that can detect enemies in the air and direct entire aerial battles. Since the 1970s, the U.S. Air Force has used the E-3 for this purpose. Called the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System), it is truly one of the strangest planes America's military has ever flown. It sports an enormous rotating radar dish on its back, 30 feet in diameter, giving it a silhouette that's instantly recognizable. Flying in pretty much every major conflict the U.S. has been involved in since its deployment, the AWACS is a staple of American airpower. But its long watch is at last coming to an end. The AWACS uses a positively ancient airframe, the Boeing 707, which first flew in 1957 and no longer even flies commercially. That means parts are harder and harder to come by, and the cost of maintenance is skyrocketing, even as its once-peerless capabilities are becoming second-tier in the modern world. So the Air Force has already started to put them out to pasture, specifically by tossing them in the Boneyard. Read more: Buy One Of These Electric Pickup Trucks Instead Of Humiliating Yourself With A Tesla Cybertruck The Boneyard is the nickname for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. While the base plays host to a number of units, it's most famous for being the home of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group. Essentially, if the Air Force needs to take a plane out of flight rotation, it can send it to this team for storage, potentially repair, and if need be, long-term retirement. With almost 3,200 aircraft on site, the Boneyard is the largest airplane graveyard in the world. The extremely arid desert air made it an ideal location for parking old planes, since humidity leads to rust and erosion. By storing the planes instead of destroying them, the Air Force could refit them for flight in an emergency; otherwise, the junk planes are a great source of parts, particularly for older airframes like the AWACS has. Since 2023, the Air Force sent 14 AWACS to the Boneyard, taking them out of operational rotation, possibly forever. Another was left at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, the main hub for the plane, as a display. That leaves only 16 AWACS still flying for the United States, though NATO and other allies still fly their own as well. The primary mission of the E-3 AWACS is to coordinate air battles and detect enemy aircraft and missiles. Essentially, the beating heart of the plane is that gigantic radar dish on the back, which can sweep for contacts up to 250 miles away. All of that information is then displayed to the crew, as many as 19 specialists, whose job it is to relay that information back out to other American or allied forces in the area. Recently, NATO has been flying the AWACS to detect Russian bombing flights and missile launches against Ukraine so it can make sure the conflict doesn't spill over the border into NATO countries. Far more than simply a source of information, the AWACS is also an airborne command and control center, able to direct an entire air battle if need be. It can also assist ground commanders by advising them of what the enemy has in the air. As mighty as the E-3 AWACS once was, it has started to show its age. The aircraft are decades old, parts for its archaic Boeing 707 airframe are getting harder to come by, and worst of all, its signature radar dish is no longer top of the line. A full sweep of an area takes 10 seconds; in other words, if there's a specific enemy plane or missile you want to track, you're only going to get an update every 10 seconds. That's an eternity in the heat of combat. So in 2023, the Pentagon announced that it had ordered Boeing E-7s to replace them. The E-7 is based on the 737 airframe (even though the 737 MAX has been a headache for Boeing), still in operation around the world today. Parts are plentiful, in other words. More importantly, it trades the bulky radar dish for a linear piece called the multirole electronically scanned array. This can lock onto one or more targets to track, rather than having to wait for a dish to sweep around. This is the military, however, and nothing happens quickly. So even though the plane is already operational in several allied air forces, the U.S. doesn't expect to get prototypes until fiscal year 2028. The plan was to get 26 of the finalized versions by 2032, but now the Trump administration is reviewing budget priorities, and the whole project could be scoped back or even scrapped. If the Pentagon does proceed with acquiring them, the U.S. Air Force versions of the E-7 ought to be the pinnacle of airborne early warning and battle management. In fact, it's possible that they will hold on to that distinction forever. That's because the future of this mission isn't airborne at all -- it's orbital. Somewhere around a decade from now, the goal is for this kind of real-time information gathering, sharing, and coordinating to be handled by vast constellations of small satellites across both low-Earth orbit and medium-Earth orbit. If those plans are successful, these satellites could render the planes redundant. Why wait for a plane to taxi to the runway, take off, and fly all the way to the battle when you already have a network of satellites overhead all the time? Then again, redundancy is never a bad thing in battle, where assets get shot down all the time. The Pentagon may well like keeping airborne capabilities around as a backup. The E-3 AWACS has been flying for 50 years; so if they ever fly at all, there's no reason to think the E-7 couldn't be, too. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
News18
18-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
How Pakistan Lost Its Airborne Warning And Control System During Operation Sindoor?
The success Operation Sindoor not only brought Pakistan to its knees, but its losses are emerging one after the other by its own admission. A former Pakistani Air Marshal has recently revealed that Islamabad list its Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft in an Indian missile strike on the Bholari airbase near Karachi. The Pakistani government was on a mission to spread propaganda and false claims about damage in India to create panic among people. But India's Press Information Bureau (PIB) and several defence officials have debunked such claims.
Mint
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Viral video: Ex-Pakistan Air Marshal admits losing AWACS at Bholari airbase during Operation Sindoor
Although the Pakistani government has not officially acknowledged the damage from the Operation Sindoor airstrikes, a former Pakistani Air Marshal has let out that an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft was destroyed by the Indian airstrikes at Bholari airbase in Sindh province on the early morning of May 10. In an interview, ex-Air Marshal Masood Akhtar said the Pakistani military tried to save the AWACS aircraft but the missiles kept coming. 'They (Indian forces) fired four back-to-back Brahmos surface-to-surface missiles or air-to-surface missiles, I am not sure. The Pakistani pilots rushed to secure their aircraft, but the missiles kept on coming, and unfortunately, the fourth one hit the hangar at Bholari airbase, where one of our AWACS was standing. It was damaged,' Masood Akhtar said. The AWACS is designed to detect aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles, and other incoming threats from long distances. Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, was India's swift retaliatory strike targeting nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK). The mission followed the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, where 25 tourists and a local were killed. After India targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, the Pakistani military attempted to breach Indian air defences. However, the attempt failed, and India struck back by hitting Pakistani airbases and destroying key military areas and equipment. The military strikes continued for four days before the Pakistani DGMO dialed his Indian counterpart to reach an agreement. Meanwhile, in a strong warning to Pakistan, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that Operation Sindoor is not over yet and whatever happened was 'just a trailer'. 'We have kept Pakistan on probation. If its behavior improves, then okay, otherwise, it will be given strictest punishment,' he said.
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First Post
16-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
'Pak lost an AWACS': How Islamabad's losses are coming out, one admission at a time
Pakistan appears to have begun acknowledging the losses it suffered after India's Operation Sindoor. Retired Air Marshal Masood Akhtar, former chief of the Pakistan Air Force, said in an interview that Pakistan lost an AWACS aircraft when an Indian missile struck the Bholari airbase near Karachi. Also, in its first admission of air force casualties, Islamabad confirmed that 11 military personnel were killed during the confrontation with India read more A satellite image shows a view of damaged building at Nur Khan airbase following airstrikes in Rawalpindi. Reuters/File Photo Days after the success of India's 'Operation Sindoor', Pakistan's losses are now emerging one admission at a time. A former Pakistan Air Force chief recently revealed that Islamabad lost its Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft in an Indian missile strike on the Bholari airbase near Islamabad. Soon after 'Operation Sindoor', Pakistan tried to spread false claims about damage in India to create panic among people. These claims were later debunked by PIB Fact Check and several defence officials. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD ALSO READ | Did India's Operation Sindoor cause a nuclear leak in Pakistan? What's behind the rumours? Now, however, it appears that Pakistan has begun to acknowledge the losses it suffered. In this explainer, we look at the admissions made so far by Pakistan in connection to India's 'Operation Sindoor'. Let's find out: Losing AWACS aircraft in Indian strikes Retired Air Marshal Masood Akhtar, former chief of the Pakistan Air Force, has said in an interview that Pakistan lost an AWACS aircraft during Indian missile strikes on the night of May 9 and 10. The strikes targeted 11 military locations. Notably, India's missile strike hit the Bholari airbase near Karachi. Indian defence officials confirmed the damage, and satellite images from Maxar Technologies supported these claims. 'They (Indian armed forces) fired four back-to-back Brahmos missiles…the (Pakistani) pilots rushed to secure their aircraft, but the missiles kept on coming and, unfortunately, the fourth one hit the hangar at Bholari (airbase), where one of our AWACS was standing. It was damaged and casualties were also reported…' he said in the interview. Bholari is Pakistan's newest airbase and was the site of the 'Shaheen IX' joint aerial drill with China in 2020. Inaugurated in December 2017, it is considered one of Pakistan's most advanced operational airbases, according to reports. A satellite image shows a view of a damaged structure at Bholari air base following airstrikes in Bholari, Pakistan. Reuters File AWACS, or Airborne Warning and Control System, is a mobile, long-range radar system that plays a key role in Pakistan's air defence operations. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On May 10, India targeted 11 military sites across Pakistan. These included airbases in Nur Khan, Rafiqui, Murid, Sukkur, Sialkot, Pasrur, Chunian, Sargodha, Skardu, Bholari, and Jacobabad. According to the Indian government, the overnight strikes was a historic moment, as this was the first time a country had successfully attacked the airbases of a nuclear-armed nation in a single operation. ALSO READ | Forget India, how Pakistan can't even beat the economies of these two Indian states Pakistani aircraft suffered 'minor damage' On Sunday, May 11, Pakistan's military said that one of its aircraft had suffered 'minor damage' in the clash with India. The admission came after India stated it had shot down several Pakistani aircraft while responding to Pakistan's escalation following Operation Sindoor. Speaking at a press briefing with air force and navy officials, Pakistan Army spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said 'only one aircraft' had sustained 'minor damage'. He did not share further information about the type of aircraft. Pakistan admits 11 military personnel killed On Tuesday, May 13, Pakistan confirmed that 11 of its military personnel were killed during its confrontation with India. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), six of those killed were army soldiers, while the remaining five belonged to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This was the first time Pakistan admitted to losing air force personnel, including chief technician Aurangzeb, during India's 'Operation Sindoor'. The acknowledgement gave credence to the Indian Air Force's statement that it brought down a few planes of the PAF. Pakistan also said that 78 personnel were injured during 'Operation Bunyan-al-Marsus', which it launched on May 9 and 10. The operation targeted 26 sites across Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat using drones and missiles. However, all incoming threats were intercepted or blocked by India's air defence systems. ALSO READ | From Akash to BrahMos, how Made-in-India weapons took on Pakistan arsenal and destroyed it Pakistan admits no Indian pilot captured Pakistan clarified that it did not capture any Indian pilot. Speaking at a press conference with air force and navy officials on Sunday, Pakistan Army spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the reports were false and based on 'fake social media reports'. His comment came after several pro-Pakistan social media accounts claimed that an Indian Air Force pilot, Squadron Leader Shivani Singh, had been captured. This was previously denied by PIB Fact Check, which labelled the claim 'fake'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Pakistan minister admits 'doing dirty work for US, West' Soon after the terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people in India, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admitted the country's history of backing terror groups as 'dirty work' for the West, a move he called a mistake that has cost Pakistan. In an interview with Sky News, he said, 'Well, we have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades, you know, and the West, including Britain.' Operation Sindoor On May 7, India launched precise and coordinated strikes on terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, under the codename Operation Sindoor. The operation resulted in the killing of over 100 terrorists, including those linked to the IC-814 hijacking and the Pulwama attack of 2019. As tensions escalated, both sides exchanged drone and missile attacks, bringing them close to a full-blown war. Debris of drones and other munitions from Pakistan, found after being destroyed by air defence units following an attack from the neighbouring country, in Amritsar. PTI On the evening of May 10, more than 100 hours into the confrontation, a ceasefire was declared after Pakistan reached out to India to halt the fighting. With Operation Sindoor, India showed that it would act against terrorism wherever it may exist, sending a clear message that those behind such attacks would not be safe anywhere. With inputs from agencies
