Operation Sindoor, a coordinated strike by the Indian Army (IA) and Indian Air Force (IAF), was carried out between 1:05 AM and 1:30 AM (local time) on May 7. The operation was a resounding success.
Primarily a punitive response, the strike aimed to deter the Pakistani Army from orchestrating further terrorist attacks, specifically in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam massacre, in which 26 tourists were brutally killed.
At a post-operation press briefing, the armed forces released details and imagery of the nine confirmed targets, affirming the mission’s effectiveness.
Targets Struck Across The LoC in PoJK
1. Sawai Nala Camp, Muzaffarabad, approx 30 km from the Line of Control.
A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) training camp, also referred to as Shwawai Nalla camp, used for terrorist training.
2. Bilal Camp, Muzaffarabad
A Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) facility, serving as a staging area for arms, ammunition, and training.
3. Gulpur Camp, Kotli, approx 30 km from the Line of Control (LoC).
A LeT terrorist facility used for training and infiltration. It serves as a staging area for cross-border operations.
Objective control imagery released: Before target strike image.
4. Barnala Camp, Bhimber, approximately 9 km from the Line of Control
A facility for arms training and jungle survival training
Objective control imagery released: An aircraft or armed drone, possibly Heron, dropping a tumbling free-fall bomb, which struck the target.
5. Abbas Camp, Kotli, approximately 13 km from the Line of Control.
A LeT base for training LeT terrorists.
Objective control imagery released: The target being struck by a stand-off PGM, possibly with a cluster warhead. The attack was filmed by a drone.
🚨BREAKING
🇮🇳India releases official footage of Operation Sindoor air strikes.
At 1 AM on May 7, nine terror sites in Pakistan were hit using cruise missiles, loitering munitions, and armed quadcopters. pic.twitter.com/yNvH1tGJ5P
— EurAsian Times (@THEEURASIATIMES) May 7, 2025
Targets Struck Across The International Border (IB)
1. Markas Subhanallah, Bahawalpur (Punjab, Pakistan), approximately 100 km from the International Border (IB), near the Samba sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
Headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)
Objective control imagery released: The target being struck by a long-range PGM (SCALP?). The video confirmed the success of the deepest attack of Op Sindoor.
2. Markaz Taiba Muridke (Punjab, Pakistan), approximately 18-25 km from the International Border, opposite the Samba sector.
Headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), known as Masjid wa Markaz Taiba, a significant ideological and operational center. A critical LeT facility linked to attacks like the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Objective control imagery released: Video imagery, likely filmed by a drone, shows the target being struck at least four times by standoff PGMs, possibly HAMMER-kitted glide bombs.
3. Sarjal Camp, Sialkot (PoJK), approximately 6 km from the international border.
A terrorist facility, likely linked to LeT or HM, used for training and logistics.
4. Mehmoona Joya Camp (Sialkot, Pakistan), approximately 12–18 km from the International Border
A Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) training center, also known as Mehmoona Joya, used for militant training and infiltration into Jammu.
Objective control imagery released: Video footage from the optical seeker of the kamikaze drone that struck the target.
Operational Results
During Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force avoided the misstep it had made during the Balakot strike (Operation Bandar) in February 2019.
This time, it meticulously recorded objective control videos and images as clear evidence of strike success. In several instances, video footage showed weapons hitting their targets, while in others, before-and-after imagery confirmed target destruction.
The IAF and Indian Army jointly presented visual evidence confirming successful strikes on at least seven out of the nine targets.
Video documentation of attacks on Markas Subhanallah in Bahawalpur and Markaz Taiba in Muridke, both deep inside Pakistani territory, suggested a high degree of planning and coordination, underlining the IAF’s intent to clearly document its success.
By any objective standard, the operation was executed with precision and effectiveness. Whether this tactical success translates into the strategic goal of deterring future Pakistan Army-sponsored terror attacks remains to be seen and will be explored later in this narrative.
Weapons Used
On May 7, 2025, the Ministry of Defence issued a press release stating that the Indian Armed Forces had conducted “focused and precise” missile strikes, implying the use of Precision-Guided Munitions (PGMs).
According to various media reports, the Indian Air Force (IAF) employed SCALP stealth cruise missiles and bombs equipped with HAMMER boost-and-glide kits, launched from Rafale fighter jets.
The SCALP missile, with a range of approximately 300 km, was likely used to target the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) headquarters in Bahawalpur. Social media images appearing after the strike strongly support claims of the SCALP’s high accuracy and effectiveness.
Visuals released during the official briefing suggest the use of a diverse array of weapon systems. One video clip appears to show unguided bombs, possibly dropped from an aircraft or a Heron armed drone, tumbling in free fall.
In at least one instance, a kamikaze drone was clearly used, indicating multi-platform, multi-weapon coordination during the operation.
Unsubstantiated Claim Of IAF Losses
In the early hours of May 7, 2025, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif claimed that Pakistan had shot down five Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets.
The claim was made without any supporting evidence, yet several international media outlets, including Bloomberg and Reuters, amplified it using misleading headlines that presented the claim as fact rather than an unverified statement.
Following this, Pakistan-affiliated social media accounts circulated images and video clips purportedly showing downed IAF aircraft. These were widely shared by Western social media influencers.
However, India’s official PIB Fact Check handle on X (formerly Twitter) debunked these visuals, confirming that they were from past incidents and unrelated to Operation Sindoor. Notably, at least one image, cited by Reuters as a crashed aircraft, was in fact a jettisoned drop tank.
Given the precision and standoff nature of the strikes, it’s unlikely that a large number of IAF fighters were directly involved in target engagement. Many of the sites struck were located close to the Line of Control (LoC) or International Border (IB), and were likely hit by attack or kamikaze drones.
The IAF’s Rafale jets, reportedly used to strike Bahawalpur with SCALP cruise missiles, or Markaz Taiba in Muridke using HAMMER-armed bombs, would have released their payloads from well within Indian airspace—between 25 and 150 km from the border—effectively keeping them beyond the range of Pakistan’s air defense systems.
Additionally, IAF fighters on combat air patrol (CAP), equipped with long-range air-to-air missiles, would have deterred any attempt by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighters to engage.
It is plausible that Pakistan’s air defense systems attempted to intercept incoming SCALP and HAMMER munitions and, in the confusion, misidentified missile interceptions as aircraft shootdowns.
These incidents may have been misreported on social media, fueling the Defence Minister’s unsubstantiated claim.
Conclusion
Operation Sindoor is likely to prompt a Pakistani Air Force (PAF) riposte, much like Operation Swift Retort that followed the Balakot air strike in 2019.
What unfolds next will hinge on the outcome of Pakistan’s response. This time, however, the Indian Air Force (IAF) appears far better prepared.
With a fleet that includes cutting-edge fighters and a robust inventory of long-range air-to-air missiles, the likelihood of the PAF executing a face-saving strike on Indian targets appears remote.
In this context, Pakistan’s most rational course of action may be to reconsider its reliance on terrorism as an instrument of state policy—a doctrine that has brought escalating costs and diminishing returns in the face of India’s increasingly precise and assertive responses.
- Vijainder K Thakur is a retired IAF Jaguar pilot, author, software architect, entrepreneur, and military analyst.
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