At the Pakistan Air Force Academy Asghar Khan graduation parade, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu’s remarks to the graduating officers were charged with purpose, offering a clear vision of a force that not only safeguards Pakistan’s skies, but now redefines airpower and multi-domain warfare across South Asia.
From the outset, the air chief made clear that the graduates were stepping into a very different air force from the one their predecessors inherited. At the core of this reality lies Marka-e-Haq (Bunyanum Marsoos), the conflict that has become a defining reference point for air warfare in the region. The events of May 6-7, when a numerically superior adversary attempted to impose its will across Pakistan’s airspace, continue to be dissected in professional circles. That attempt met an air force operating with a rare combination of speed, precision and doctrinal clarity. In what many analysts have described as one of the longest and most intense Beyond-Visual-Range air battles of the 21st century, the PAF engaged, outmanoeuvred and, in several decisive cases, shot down some of the adversary’s most advanced aircraft, including Rafale, Su-30MKI, MiG-29 and Mirage-2000 fighters.
ACM Sidhu highlighted how, for the first time in its history, the PAF executed full-spectrum multi-domain warfare, fusing kinetic operations in the air with non-kinetic effects in the Electromagnetic Spectrum, Cyberspace and space-enabled situational awareness. Among the most consequential outcomes was the effective neutralisation of a highly publicised S-400 Air Defence System, long promoted as a regional 'game-changer'. Its paralysis underscored two stark truths: technological arrogance is no substitute for operational mastery and the intelligent, indigenous integration of electronic warfare, cyber tools and low-observable platforms can defeat even the most acclaimed air defence architectures.
Behind this performance lay a deliberate reorientation of priorities. Confronted with fiscal constraints and an increasingly complex threat environment, the PAF moved away from a narrow, platform-centric approach towards a capability-centric modernisation framework. Through a carefully sequenced Smart Induction Program, the service shifted investment towards drones and loitering munitions, indigenous electronic warfare suites, space-based ISR nodes, AI-enabled decision-support tools, long-range precision strike capabilities, integrated C2 networks and resilient cyber warfare infrastructure.
Rather than waiting for perfect, imported solutions, the PAF chose to build, adapt and integrate what it needed at a pace unmatched in the region, turning necessity into a driver of innovation. Within this broader transformation, the National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP) serves as a concise emblem of the new mindset.
Despite achieving decisive superiority in the air and demonstrating reach across hostile territory, from northern approaches to southern industrial corridors, the PAF calibrated its responses with deliberate restraint. In his speech, ACM Sidhu stressed that strength does not equate to escalation and real power does not require the humiliation of an adversary. Pakistan could have extended the confrontation; instead, it chose to restore deterrence, demonstrate capability and then stabilise the environment in line with the national leadership’s objectives.
Within this strategic envelope, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir’s role was acknowledged as pivotal. ACM Sidhu implicitly outlined his contribution in four dimensions: providing strategic clarity when the adversary sought to exploit misperceptions, ensuring rapid and synchronised political-military decision-making, forging tri-service synergy at a level rarely seen in the subcontinent’s history and projecting calm resolve at moments of national uncertainty.
ACM Sidhu linked the PAF’s modernisation and performance in Marka-e-Haq to Pakistan’s broader international profile. As a responsible nuclear power, Pakistan’s posture is increasingly viewed as central to regional stability and key partners have taken careful note of the PAF’s professionalism in crisis, the effectiveness of its indigenous systems, the discipline with which Force was applied and the maturity shown in de-escalation.
For the graduating officers on the parade square, the implications were clear: they are joining a force whose modernisation journey is far from over, but whose conduct in Marka-e-Haq has already compelled the region to recalibrate its understanding of airpower.
The writer is a freelance contributor.
