News Delhi| Aug, 9: Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief AP Singh, in a massive disclosure, said that surface to air missile systems of the armed forces destroyed five Pakistani fighter jets and another aircraft designed for airborne surveillance during Operation Sindoor.
Speaking at the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre lecture in Bengaluru, the IAF chief further revealed that some parked US-made F-16 jets suffered damage at the Jacobabad airbase when India targeted Pakistan’s military sites on May 10. Two command and control centres were also damaged.
The pounding of airbases, some of which are yet to become operational, eventually forced Pakistan to dial India for a ceasefire agreement after three days of hostilities.
“We have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT aircraft or an AEW&C (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometres. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about,” he said.
This is the first public revelation by the armed forces of the extent of damage caused to the Pakistani air fleet during the operation, which was launched as a response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
The Air Chief Marshal also confirmed severe damage to air bases in Pakistan, including the Jacobabad airfield that housed F-16 jets. “At Jacobabad airfield, there’s an F-16 hangar. One half of the hangar is gone. I am sure there were some aircraft inside which got damaged. We were able to get at least two command and control centres, like Murid and Chaklala. At least six radars… We have an indication of at least one AEW&C and a few F-16s, which were under maintenance, suffered damage,” he further said. The IAF chief credited the Russian made S-400 Triumf air defence system for engaging targets far inside enemy airspace, calling it a “game changer”.
“The S-400 system, which we recently bought, has been a game-changer. The range of that system has really kept their aircraft away from their weapons, like those long-range glide bombs that they have. They have not been able to use any one of those because they have not been able to penetrate the system,” he further said.
Singh also shared “before and after” satellite images of the nine terror targets that were battered by the armed forces on May 7. He said the images reveal no collateral damage, rebutting Pakistan’s charge of civilian casualties. Around 100 terrorists were killed in the strikes on terror launchpads.
Pertinently, the Air Chief also rejected the opposition’s charge that there were operational restrictions on the military, asserting that they had full freedom to plan and execute the attacks. “A key reason for success was the presence of political will. There were very clear directions given to us. No restrictions were put on us. If there were any constraints, they were self-made. We decided how much to escalate. We had full freedom to plan and execute. Our attacks were calibrated because we wanted to be mature about it,” he said.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, citing remarks by the Indian defence attache in Indonesia, who suggested that India lost some jets during the conflict due to constraints by the political leadership. However, the Indian embassy later said the remarks were “taken out of context” and “misrepresented”.
