Pakistan’s Air Marshal Masood Akhtar (retired) has admitted that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) lost an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft during India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ on the night of May 9–10 to a BrahMos missile strike.
BrahMos is an Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile that can be fired from Land, Air, and Sea. India is believed to have employed the BrahMos missile from Su-30 MKI fighters.
“They (Indian forces) fired four back-to-back Brahmos surface-to-surface 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…” he said in an interview, which was shared by an X user.
EurAsian Times cannot verify the video’s authenticity and awaits an official answer from Pakistan’s military.
🚨🚨Pakistani Air Marshal (R) ADMITS 🇵🇰PAF Lost AWACS Aircraft In Bholari To 🇮🇳BrahMos Strike.
“They fired four back-to-back Brahmos surface-to-surface missiles… surface-to-surface or air-to-surface, I am not sure. The (Pakistani) pilots rushed to secure their aircraft, but the… pic.twitter.com/zbXXEzPdTY
— EurAsian Times (@THEEURASIATIMES) May 16, 2025
The Indian Air Force (IAF) targeted 11 PAF air bases in precision strikes on the night of May 9.
These PAF air bases were spread across the country, with one –Bholari—over 270 km away from the India-Pakistan International Border (IB). The strikes covered air bases under all three Pakistan Air Commands: the Northern Air Command, the Central Air Command, and the Southern Air Command.
India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) said on May 14 that these strikes targeted ammunition depots and airbases, including Sargodha and Bholari, where F-16 and JF-17 fighters were stationed.
It further said that 50 individuals, including Squadron Leader Usman Yusuf and four airmen, were killed in the bombing of Bholari Airbase, and several Pakistani aircraft were destroyed.
“As a result, nearly 20 percent of Pakistan’s air force infrastructure was destroyed,” the PIB report said.
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Base Bholari is known to house Saab 2000 Erieye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft.
The Saab 2000 Erieye is a Swedish-manufactured airborne early warning and control aircraft equipped with the Erieye radar system, which provides 270-degree radar coverage. It serves as a mobile command and control center, detecting enemy aircraft, directing friendly forces, and coordinating battlefield operations.
Another AWACS that could have been present at Bholari is the ZDK-03 Karakoram Eagle, a Chinese-manufactured AWACS based on the Y-8F600 platform and equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.
It provides similar early warning and control functions but is considered less advanced than the Saab 2000 Erieye.
India, Pakistan Trade Accusations
India and Pakistan accused each other of failing to control their nuclear weapons, calling on the world to monitor their neighbour’s arsenal just days after their most serious military confrontation in two decades.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal should be under the surveillance of the UN’s atomic energy agency, while Islamabad said the international community should investigate a “black market” in India.
The latest conflict between India and Pakistan had sparked global concerns that it could spiral into a full-blown war before a ceasefire was brokered on Saturday.
“I wanted to raise this question for the world: Are nuclear weapons safe in the hands of a rogue and irresponsible nation?” Singh told troops at a base in Kashmir.
“I believe that Pakistan’s atomic weapons should be brought under the surveillance of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),” Singh added.
Hours later, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the IAEA should instead probe “the repeated theft and illicit trafficking incidents involving nuclear and radioactive material in India”.
“These incidents also suggest the existence of a black market for sensitive, dual-use materials inside India,” its statement added.
However, on Thursday, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced that there had been “military-to-military communications” and that both sides had agreed to extend a ceasefire until Sunday, May 18.
Ceasefire
Fighting began when India launched strikes on May 7 against what it called “terrorist camps” in Pakistan following an April attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which killed 26 people.
New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the militants it claimed were behind the attack — the deadliest on civilians in Kashmir in decades. Pakistan denies the charge.
Four days of intense drone, missile, and artillery exchanges ensued, leaving nearly 70 people, including dozens of civilians, dead on both sides.
Both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and members of the IAEA, which regulates the use of nuclear weapons.
Pakistani ministers have repeatedly said the nuclear option was not on the table and that the country’s nuclear governmental body was not summoned at any point during the recent conflict.
Pakistani military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told reporters on Sunday that escalating conflict between the nuclear rivals was “inconceivable and sheer stupidity”.
“That conflict can lead to the peril of 1.6 billion people, so in reality, there is no space for war between India and Pakistan,” Chaudhry said.
Restraint Calls
Fearing further escalation, global leaders had urged restraint from the arch-enemies, with US President Donald Trump announcing the surprise truce.
The ceasefire has held since the weekend, following initial claims of violations from both sides.
But Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a call with UN chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, expressed “concerns over the continued provocative and inflammatory remarks by Indian leadership, as a threat to the fragile regional peace”.
India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Thursday that a key water treaty, which governs river water critical to parched Pakistan for consumption and agriculture, would remain suspended until “cross-border terrorism by Pakistan is credibly and irrevocably stopped”.
His counterpart in Pakistan, Ishaq Dar, responded, calling the treaty “a no-go area”.
“The treaty can’t be amended, nor can it be terminated by any party unless both agree,” he told parliament.
Militants have stepped up operations on the Indian side of Kashmir since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government revoked the region’s limited autonomy and imposed direct rule from New Delhi.
Police in Jammu and Kashmir, meanwhile, said they killed three suspected militants on Thursday in the town of Tral, in Pulwama district south of Srinagar, the region’s main city. Police also said three other suspected militants died in a gun battle with soldiers on Tuesday in the southern Kashmir valley.
With Inputs from Agence France-Presse
