Operation Sindoor’s Lasting Blow: Pakistan Still Repairing Its Failed Sargodha Runway Fix

 

Fresh satellite imagery dated 12 September 2026 shows renewed construction at Pakistan Air Force Base Mushaf in Sargodha, where a section of the main runway struck during Operation Sindoor appears to have been reopened for deeper repairs, more than 16 months after the Operation Sindoor.

 

More than a year after the Indian Air Force struck Pakistani military facilities in Operation Sindoor, new satellite imagery indicates ongoing construction activity on a section of the main runway at Pakistan Air Force Base Mushaf in Sargodha.

 

High-resolution Vantor imagery dated 12 September 2026 reveals a distinct dark patch at the junction of the primary runway and a taxiway. The area differs in appearance from the surrounding asphalt surface, consistent with excavation or resurfacing. A red vehicle is visible near the site.

 

This location matches one of the two points on Mushaf's roughly 3,200-metre main runway that were hit on 10 May 2025. Earlier imagery from 28 August 2026 had shown the same section appearing repaired. The September images suggest the previously restored portion has been opened again, with work extending below the surface towards the subgrade.

 

This could point to more substantial reconstruction rather than a simple surface fix, though satellite images alone cannot confirm the precise cause. Possible factors include issues with the earlier repair, pavement settlement, or underlying damage.

 

Analysts reviewing post-strike imagery from 10 May 2025 estimated one crater measured approximately 8-9 metres wide and 4-5 metres deep, with asphalt and concrete debris scattered around the impact zone.

 

A second impact site lay about 660 metres away on the same runway. The Indian Air Force (AIF) has not officially identified the ammunition used. Some independent assessments have noted that the crater characteristics align with those expected from an air-launched BrahMos missile fired from a Su-30MKI, but this remains unconfirmed.

 

Operation Sindoor, conducted on 10 May 2025, targeted a range of Pakistani military infrastructure, including airbases, radar sites and air-defence assets, according to Indian military statements.

 

Mushaf airbase lies roughly 172 km northwest of Lahore and about 200 km from the India-Pakistan border near Amritsar.

 

The latest imagery demonstrates that repair or reconstruction activity continues at one of the struck runway sections more than 16 months after the operation. The exact reasons for the renewed work cannot be determined from satellite data alone.

 

The prolonged struggle to restore even a single section of Mushaf runway sixteen months after Operation Sindoor underlines that India’s precision strikes inflicted lasting damage that Pakistan’s air force has still not fully overcome.

 

 

What was once presented as a temporary setback has become a visible, enduring scar on a premier Pakistani airbase.