Pakistan is trying to heal the wounds of Operation Sindoor, compensating for the planes shot down by India.

New Delhi: Nearly a year after Operation Sindoor, Pakistan is still trying to recover from the losses inflicted by India. Pakistan is now set to acquire China’s Shaanxi KJ-500 aircraft, an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). India shot down a Pakistani AWACS aircraft during Operation Sindoor.

This was a major blow to Pakistan, as AWACS aircraft are considered a vital strategic asset and force multiplier. An AWACS aircraft is an airborne radar and surveillance system that tracks enemy aircraft, missiles, and drones, allowing interceptors and air defense missile batteries to be activated in a timely manner. The KJ-500 is a modern airborne early warning aircraft designed to detect and track aerial threats at long ranges.

China is providing these aircraft to Pakistan as part of a larger defense package that also includes the J-35A stealth fighter and the HQ-19 air defense system. The deal also includes advanced stealth, sensor fusion, and integration of the HQ-19 systems to develop network-based combat capabilities. According to Pakistani media, formal negotiations between Chinese and Pakistani officials regarding the AWACS aircraft began in June 2025.

India shot down six Pakistani aircraft, including an AWACS.
It is worth noting that in August 2025, Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh stated that India had shot down six Pakistani aircraft, including five fighter jets and an AWACS, during Operation Sindoor in May 2025. He stated, “The Indian Air Force has evidence of the destruction of one Pakistani C-130 class aircraft and at least four to five fighter jets, possibly F-16s.”

Previously, the Pakistan Air Force had a Saab Erieye-2000 AWACS aircraft. According to the Canada-based defense and geopolitics news outlet Eurasian Times, this Pakistani AWACS was shot down by India. Furthermore, the Eurasian Times also claimed that Pakistan lost another Saab Erieye-2000 in an Indian missile attack on Bholari Airbase. Former Pakistan Air Force Air Marshal Masood Akhtar also acknowledged this. However, Pakistan continues to try to conceal the losses suffered during Operation Sindoor.

Pakistan suffered a heavy blow in Operation Sindoor.
India launched Operation Sindoor on the night of May 7, 2025, in which the Indian Army bombed and destroyed nine terrorist hideouts within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. This action was taken in response to the April 2025 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in which Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists shot and killed 26 people. All of them were tourists who had traveled to Kashmir from various Indian states.

Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh stated in a press conference a few days after Operation Sindoor, “We successfully targeted several Pakistani airfields and military installations.” He also stated that the Indian attacks inflicted heavy losses on Pakistan. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh stated, “Our attacks on Pakistani military installations damaged radars at at least four locations, command and control centers at two locations, runways at two locations, and three of their hangars at three different stations.”