Pakistan Air Force assets reportedly conducted operations between May 7 and 10, 2025, utilising what military analysts term "civilian masking"—a tactic wherein military aircraft operate in proximity to civilian flight corridors to degrade opponent radar discrimination and response time. According to available accounts, J-10C and JF-17 Block III fighters were employed in this capacity during the opening phase of the reported engagement, complicating India's air defence identification and targeting procedures.
The tactic exploits inherent limitations in modern air defence systems: the difficulty of distinguishing hostile military platforms from civilian airliners when radar returns cluster in congested airspace. This creates a critical safety vulnerability. Commercial aviation operations depend on segregation of military and civilian routes; deliberate commingling of military sorties with civilian traffic violates fundamental airspace management protocols and exposes civil aircraft to intercept risk. Regulators across South Asia—including India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority—rely on agreed procedures and transponder standards to maintain this separation. Radar-shadowing tactics effectively neutralise these safeguards.
For civil aviation stakeholders, the implications are material. Airlines operating in South Asian airspace face heightened uncertainty during periods of elevated military activity; air traffic control systems require enhanced resolution capability to maintain separation standards; and accident investigation frameworks may prove inadequate if civil-military proximity results in loss of life. Operators and regulators should examine whether existing protocols for military-civilian airspace deconfliction can withstand sustained tactical pressure in contested environments.