India’s Operation Sindoor: New Satellite Imagery Reveals Extensive Damage To Pakistan’s Nur Khan Airbase

Islamabad: Recent satellite imagery has shed new light on the extent of damage inflicted on Pakistan’s strategically important Nur Khan airbase during India’s Operation Sindoor. The fresh assessment, based on the latest satellite visuals, reveals that a large complex near the strike site has been demolished, suggesting that the impact of the Indian Air Force’s precision strikes went beyond the previously reported damage to two special-purpose trucks.

According to The Intel Lab, which shared the latest satellite visuals, the destruction appears to be more extensive than initially thought. Defence analyst Damien Symon posted on X, “A review of Nur Khan Airbase, Pakistan, reveals the entire complex near India’s strike location has now been demolished, suggesting the strike’s effect went beyond the two special-purpose trucks – possibly presenting a broader footprint of the damage.”

Earlier reports based on satellite analysis had indicated that India carried out precision strikes between May 8 and 10, targeting infrastructure and ground support systems at the Rawalpindi-based airbase. The attack was viewed as both strategic and symbolic, as the base lies close to the Pakistan Army’s headquarters and serves as the command centre for air mobility operations. The Nur Khan airbase is a vital hub for Pakistan’s drone and VIP air fleet, housing key assets such as Saab Erieye airborne early warning systems, C-130 transporters, and IL-78 mid-air refuelling aircraft.

Located in Rawalpindi, less than 25 km from Islamabad, the Nur Khan airbase is a high-value target, central to Pakistan’s drone warfare strategy and home to the country’s elite pilot training and VIP fleet, including the presidential aircraft. The base also hosts Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 and indigenous Shahpar-I drones, used for targeting and surveillance operations. The scale of the strike has exposed significant vulnerabilities in Pakistan’s air defence system.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently confessed that he was awakened in the early hours of May 11 by army chief General Syed Asim Munir, who informed him that Indian ballistic missiles had hit multiple airbases, including Nur Khan. “I got a call at 2.30 am from General Munir on a secure line. He told me that India had just launched ballistic missiles and one of them fell at Nur Khan Airport,” Sharif said during a public address on Youm-e-Tashakur (Day of Thanks). According to Sharif, Pakistan retaliated by striking Indian locations, including Pathankot and Udhampur.