Pakistan's retired Air Marshal admits PAF lost AWACS aircraft in Operation Sindoor

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 16, May 2025, 8:03 am IST | UPDATED: 16, May 2025, 8:03 am IST

In a major revelation, a retired top official of the Pakistan Air Force has admitted the loss of a key airborne asset during India's precision strikes under "Operation Sindoor". In an interview, retired Air Marshal Masood Akhtar said that the Pakistan Air Force lost an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft during the missile attack carried out by India on the night of May 9–10.

According to Akhtar, the AWACS was taken down during a targeted Indian strike on the Bholari airbase, situated near Karachi. The airbase was one of 11 military installations hit as part of India's retaliatory operation. Indian defence sources had earlier claimed that the Bholari base suffered a direct hit, and this was further supported by high-resolution satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies. The visuals showed signs of huge structural damage consistent with a precision missile strike.

The Indian armed forces fired four back-to-back Brahmos missiles…surface-to-surface or air-to-surface, 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 and casualties were also reported…" Akhtar said during the interview.