Indian strikes on Pakistan damaged six airfields, Post analysis finds

Indian strikes Saturday on Pakistan damaged runways and structures across at least six airfields, according to a visual analysis by The Washington Post, which experts said were the most significant attacks of their kind in decades of simmering conflict between the South Asian rivals.

- IMOGEN PIPER, EVAN HILL, MAHAM JAVAID, RICK NOACK

The review of more than two dozen satellite images and aftermath videos found that the strikes heavily damaged three hangars, two runways and a pair of mobile buildings used by the air force. Some of the sites hit by India were as deep as 100 miles inside the country.

The strikes marked "the most extensive Indian air attacks on Pakistani military infrastructure since the 1971 war," according to Walter Ladwig, a senior lecturer in international relations at King's College London and an expert in South Asian security issues.

"High-profile targets were hit in precision strikes with the aim of severely degrading Pakistan's offensive and defensive air capabilities," according to William Goodhind, a geospatial analyst at Contested Ground, a research project that uses satellite imagery to track armed conflict.

Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia non-proliferation program at Middlebury College, assessed that the air bases "suffered some damage, but not of the sort that would disable them."

After the strikes, India claimed to have hit 11 bases in Pakistan, including the sites where The Post confirmed damage. It characterized its actions as "measured" and "calibrated."

Pakistan's chief military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, originally told reporters there had been infrastructure damage to bases, although he did not specify how many. Six members of Pakistan's air force were killed, the military said Wednesday.

Chaudhry told The Post on Wednesday that Pakistan's military intercepted most Indian missiles.

"A few managed to sneak in," he acknowledged. The military confirmed hits on five bases and one civilian airport. Chaudhry said one aircraft suffered "minor damage." He added that Pakistan has full confidence in its air defenses.