Akhtar stated Indian missiles hit a hangar at Bholari airbase, damaging the AWACS. This contradicts Pakistan's official narrative downplaying the impact. India confirmed striking 11 Pakistani airbases, targeting key military assets.
In a significant on-camera admission, Pakistan's retired Air Marshal Masood Akhtar has revealed that one of the country's crucial Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft was damaged during India's precision strikes carried out under Operation Sindoor.
The strikes, launched by India on the night of May 9–10, targeted several Pakistani military installations in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
In a televised interview that has since gone viral on social media, Akhtar said, "They (Indian forces) fired four back-to-back BrahMos missiles—surface-to-surface or air-to-surface, I'm not sure. Our pilots rushed to secure the aircraft, but the missiles kept coming. Unfortunately, the fourth one hit the hangar at Bholari airbase, where one of our AWACS was standing. It was damaged."
The video clip was shared by conflict-tracking platform Frontal Force on X (formerly Twitter) and has drawn sharp attention for contradicting Pakistan's official narrative, which has attempted to downplay the impact of the Indian strikes.
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Earlier, Indian Air Marshal AK Bharti confirmed that 11 Pakistani air bases were hit within three hours during the operation. "A decision was taken to strike where it would hurt," he said, outlining how Indian forces carried out a "precise, synchronised and measured" campaign targeting key assets, including radar systems, command centres, and ammunition depots.
Operation Sindoor included deep-penetration strikes on Pakistani military sites located in Chaklala, Rafiq, Rahim Yar Khan, Sargodha, Bhulari, and Jacobabad.
