Fresh satellite images indicate Pakistan has removed debris from a drone hangar at Sukkur Airbase, a target struck by the Indian Air Force (IAF) during Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 10, 2025. The site, long believed to house Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), was hit between 2 am and 5 am, shortly before Islamabad sought a ceasefire later that day, ending the intense 88-hour conflict.
New high-resolution satellite imagery reviewed by NDTV suggests Pakistan has begun restoring military infrastructure at Sukkur and at Chaklala’s Nur Khan Airbase, both among the key facilities hit during India’s deep-strike campaign.
Post-strike images captured in May showed the Sukkur UAV hangar destroyed, with parts of the surrounding vegetation scorched. The latest imagery now shows the structure fully demolished and the ground levelled, though no reconstruction has yet begun. A second hangar located adjacent to the strike point appears unscathed.
According to geo-intelligence analyst Damien Symon of The Intel Lab, who specialises in satellite imagery authentication, told NDTV, “The delay in cleanup likely stems from prolonged safety evaluations or possibly due to hazardous materials remaining under the rubble; clearing these would have been a prerequisite before demolition could begin.”
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Symon noted that demolition appears to have formally begun only in October.
Reconstruction activity at Nur Khan airbase
Another image sequence shows visible rebuilding at Nur Khan Base in Chaklala, where two large Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), used for command-and-control operations, were struck in the May 10 attacks.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had acknowledged the incident publicly soon after, saying, “I got a call at 2:30 (Saturday, May 10) on a secure phone from army chief General Syed Asim Munir.” Munir “informed me that India just now launched ballistic missiles, and one of them fell at the Nur Khan Airport, and the other fell in some other areas.”
Though India did not confirm the operational use of ballistic missiles, it is assessed that multiple standoff weapons, including SCALP, Rampage, and BrahMos missiles, were employed to strike hardened Pakistani military targets.
Symon added, “India's strike on Nur Khan during the May 2025 conflict targeted specialised military vehicles at the airport but also led to heavy collateral damage to adjacent infrastructure… This newly built structure is about 20×25 meters and appears to be composed of two independent but adjoining sections.”
How the conflict escalated
The conflict between India and Pakistan escalated after a brutal terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where 26 innocent civilians were killed. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, a precise counter-terror mission in which Indian forces destroyed nine terror camps located across the Line of Control in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
As Pakistan attempted to retaliate, India acted swiftly to secure its territory. On the night of May 8 and into the early hours of May 9, the Indian military carried out pre-emptive strikes on Pakistani air defence positions using armed drones, neutralising at least one such site. Officials described this as “shaping the area of operations” to prevent any further hostile moves by Pakistan.
Despite India’s restraint, Pakistan escalated the situation through aggressive drone and missile deployments, with as many as 400 drones detected along the border to target Indian radars and air defence systems. A limited number of CM-400 cruise missiles were also launched at high-value Indian military installations.
India then launched its deepest and most decisive air strikes since the 1971 war, demonstrating overwhelming superiority. The Indian Air Force struck multiple Pakistani airbases, including Sukkur, Nur Khan, Rahwali, Rafiqui, Rahim Yar Khan, Murid, Nayachor, Sargodha, Bholari, and Jacobabad. Several Pakistani fighter jets were also engaged, as was an electronic intelligence aircraft attempting to monitor Indian operations.
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