The brazen attack on a Pakistani naval air base has sent shockwaves through the nuclear-armed country, raising concerns about the military’s ability to protect sophisticated weaponry.
The ease with which six Taliban militants stormed the PNS Mehran base in Karachi and destroyed two newly US- supplied P-3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft has unnerved Pakistan’s military establishment.
The militants held off Pakistani security forces for more than 16 hours, killing 12 naval personnel and injuring 14, before the base was secured on Monday. Their primary objective appeared to be some of the military’s most sophisticated electronic warfare equipment, as they wiped out Pakistan’s anti-submarine warfare capability in a single stroke.