Armed Forces confirm destruction of 11 Pakistani air bases in precision strikes

NEW DELHI: In a joint press conference held at the National Media Centre on Sunday, the senior-most operational commanders from all three wings of the Indian Armed Forces revealed major outcomes of India’s Operation Sindoor, launched in the aftermath of the horrific Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that claimed the lives of 26 innocent civilians.

Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai (Director General Military Operations), Vice Admiral A N Pramod (Director General Naval Operations), and Air Marshal A K Bharti (Director General Air Operations) jointly announced the results of ‘Operation Sindoor’, a cross-border counter-terror operation aimed at neutralising terror infrastructure inside Pakistan.

In addition to eliminating over 100 terrorists, the strikes destroyed 11 air bases inside Pakistan and inflicted significant damage on their military capabilities. The air, land and sea operations were carried out with calibrated restraint, with an emphasis on minimising civilian casualties.

Air Marshal AK Bharti on Sunday emphasised the country’s military capabilities, stating that India has the ability to target every system at Pakistan’s bases.

This statement comes amid heightened tensions between the two nations, following India’s recent military operation, Operation Sindoor, which targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. India’s military operation involved precision strikes on nine sites identified as terrorist infrastructure, including militant camps in Muzaffarabad, Kotli and Bahawalpur.

Addressing a press briefing, Air Marshal Bharti said, “.We have the capability to target every system at these (Pak) bases and more. However, it was only a measured response to instil good wisdom to our adversary to refrain from further escalation. IAF’s response was directed only at military installations, avoiding civilians and collateral damage.”

#WATCH | Delhi: #OperationSindoor | Air Marshal AK Bharti says, “Whatever methods and whatever means we have chosen, it had the desired effects on the enemy targets. How many casualties? How many injuries? Our aim was not to inflict casualties, but in case there have been, it is… pic.twitter.com/uK9OBYuQp1

— ANI (@ANI) May 11, 2025

Bharti revealed that Pakistan launched a massive drone attack on Indian cities, including Srinagar and Naliya, on the night of May 8-9, starting at 22:30 hours. According to Bharti, Indian air defense forces were prepared and successfully countered the drone attacks, preventing any damage to intended targets.

“A decision was taken to strike where it would hurt and towards that in a swift, coordinated, calibrated attack, we stuck its Air bases, command centers, military infrastructure, air defence systems across the entire Western Front. The bases we stuck includes Chaklala, Rafiq, Rahim Yar Khan, sending a clear message that aggression will not be tolerated. This was followed by strikes at Sargodha, Bhulari, and Jacobabad.”

#WATCH | Delhi: #OperationSindoor | Air Marshal AK Bharti says, “…All I can say is that we have achieved our objectives that we selected and all our pilots are back home…” pic.twitter.com/4EvWb6PeGQ

— ANI (@ANI) May 11, 2025

Pakistan launched its own military operation, Operation Bunyanun Marsoos, targeting several key bases in India. Reports suggest that around 300-400 drones were used in the attack, targeting 36 Indian locations, including military bases and religious sites.

The drones were reportedly of Turkish origin, specifically Asisguard Songar drones. India responded with precision strikes on Pakistani air defence sites, including military installations and surveillance radar sites in Lahore and Gujranwala.

“On the night of 8th and 9th, starting as early as 22:30 hours, our cities had a mass raid of drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, starting right from Srinagar going right up to Naliya…We were prepared and our air defence preparedness ensured that there was no damage on the ground or to any of the intended targets that the enemy had planned for…In a measured and calibrated response, we once again targeted the military installations, surveillance radar sites at Lahore and Gujranwala…Drone attacks continued till morning which we countered,” said Air Marshal AK Bharti.

Bharti highlighted that Pakistan allowed civilian aircraft to fly out of Lahore during the drone attacks, including international passenger aircraft, which posed a significant challenge for India’s response.

“While the drone attacks were being launched from somewhere closer to Lahore, the enemy had allowed their civilian aircraft also to continue to fly out of Lahore, not only their own aircraft but also international passenger aircraft, which is quite insensitive and we had to exercise extreme caution…,” he added.

According to Bharti, India’s focus was on hitting targets accurately, leaving the enemy to assess their losses. “Whatever methods and whatever means we have chosen, it had the desired effects on the enemy targets. How many casualties? How many injuries? Our aim was not to inflict casualties, but in case there have been, it is for them to count. Our job is to hit the target, not to count the body bags,” he said when asked about Pakistani Army casualties.

Air Marshal Bharti refrained from disclosing technical details of the weapons and calibres employed, citing operational confidentiality. “I never mentioned any of the weapons and calibre that we used — we leave it at that. Those are matters of operational details that I would not like to get into,” he said. He said whatever methods and means were chosen “had the desired effects on the enemy targets.”

Meanwhile, Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai said that more than 100 terrorists, including those involved in the 1999 Indian Airlines flight (IC-814) hijacking, and the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, were eliminated in the precision strikes carried out by the armed forces in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor.

He said that Operation Sindoor was conceptualised with a precise military aim to “punish the perpetrators and planners of the Pahalgam terror attack.” “Operation Sindoor was conceptualised with a clear military aim to punish the perpetrators and planners of terror and to destroy their terror infrastructure. What I do not state here is the often stated determination of India and its intolerance to terror,” Ghai said in a press conference here.

The Indian strikes killed “high-value targets”, namely, Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed, who were involved in the hijacking of IC 814, popularly known as the Kandahar hijack, and the Pulwama attack, where 40 CRPF jawans were killed in 2019.

“Those strikes across those nine terror hubs left more than 100 terrorists killed, including high-value targets such as Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed, who were involved in the hijack of IC814 and the Pulwama blast,” the DGMO added.

Ghai also informed that the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy played a “major part” in these strikes. DGMO Ghai said that the brutal Pahalgam terror attack and the “numerous other” such attacks on armed forces and defenceless civilians prompted India to make a “compelling statement of our resolve as a nation” against terrorism.

“You are all by now familiar with the brutality and the dastardly manner in which 26 innocent lives were prematurely terminated at Pahalgam on April 22. When you combine those horrific scenes and the pain of the families that the nation witnessed with numerous other recent terrorist strikes on our armed forces and defenceless civilians, we knew that the time had arrived to make yet another compelling statement of our resolve as a nation,” he said. (ANI)