Nearly six months after India launched Operation Sindoor and struck a key military compound inside Pakistan, a new structure has emerged at the same location inside Nur Khan Airbase. Fresh satellite imagery shared by Damien Symon, geo-intelligence researcher at Intel Lab, shows a building now standing where the targeted complex once existed.
Nur Khan Airbase, situated less than 25 km from Islamabad, is among Pakistan’s most sensitive military installations. Wrapped around the old Benazir Bhutto International Airport, it handles a mix of military operations and VIP movement. The base hosts transport squadrons, aerial refuelling units and PAF College Chaklala, the academy that trains future officers of the Pakistan Air Force.
The No. 12 VIP Squadron of the Pakistan Air Force, known as the Burraqs, operates from this base. This unit is responsible for transporting the country’s top leadership, including the President, Prime Minister, service chiefs, and cabinet ministers.
On May 10, India carried out a precision missile strike on two special-purpose trucks inside a secured compound at the base. The trucks, believed to be capable of command-and-control functions for drone operations, were destroyed along with the facility housing them. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had later acknowledged the Indian strike on Nur Khan and other sensitive locations.
Post-strike satellite imagery showed extensive destruction: the complex was reduced to rubble, fuel vehicles were ablaze, a warehouse roof caved in, and debris was scattered dangerously close to the main runway.
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