PAF Base Nur Khan

Airstrikes

During the 2025 India–Pakistan conflict, the Indian Air Force carried out precision cruise missile airstrikes on several key military targets in Pakistan which included technical infrastructure, command and control centres, radar sites and weapon storage areas.^[15][16]

On 10 May, the Indian Air Force carried out airstrikes on the Nur Khan Airbase, targeting runways and military infrastructure.^{[17][18][19][20]} According to Indian defense officials, the operation was intended as a "calibrated response" to cross-border attacks. According to an eye-witness and two Pakistani security officials, the attack on Nur Khan airbase saw at least two missile strikes as well as drone attacks. Pakistan’s military stated that its air defense systems intercepted most of the incoming missiles, and no critical assets were lost. However, according to a Reuters citing an official who visited the base the next day, the barrage hit two roofs and hit the hangar of a refueling plane.^[21][16] According to William Goodhind, a geospatial analyst at Contested Ground, two mobile control centers at the Nur Khan airbase were damaged. Further The Washington Post, also reported videos recorded from a parking lot nearby which "showed smoke billowing from the damaged area".^[22] According to Air Forces Monthly, the missiles struck the operations room of the 35th Composite Transport Wing, destroying two fuel trucks and collaterally damaging one Lockheed C-130 Hercules of the No. 6 Squadron PAF at the aforementioned hangar.^[23]

A ceasefire was proposed after these airstrikes.^[24][25] Within hours of India's missile-drone strikes on several Pakistani airbases, especially Nur Khan,^[21][26][27] reportedly prompted US intervention for a ceasefire agreement. The base is a strategic asset for PAF as "one of the central transport hubs" and "home to the air refueling capability" (No. 10 Squadron). The facility is also just over a mile from the headquarters of Strategic Plans Division responsible for Pakistan's nuclear arsenal which includes over 170 warheads.^[17][28][21] The New York Times also cited a former American official who stated, "Pakistan's deepest fear is of its nuclear command authority being decapitated" and that the Indian missile strikes were interpreted to be a warning for India's capability to do the same.^[17][29][30] According to Christopher Clary, an associate professor at the University at Albany, "So, an attack on the facility may have been perceived as more dangerous than India intended – and the two sides should not conclude that it is possible to have a conflict without it going nuclear".^[21] On 14 May, Reuters reported that Indian strikes on Nur Khan airbase had alarmed US officials, due to the base's proximity to Pakistan's Strategic Plans Division.^[21]

The Afghan Taliban were reported by Indian sources to have launched drone strikes against PAF Nur Khan on 2 March 2026.^{[31][32][33][34]}