IAF Chief Reveals 5 Pak Fighter Jets, Surveillance Aircraft Destroyed in Operation Sindoor

In a significant disclosure, Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh revealed on Saturday that Indian forces destroyed five Pakistani fighter jets and a specialized military surveillance aircraft during Operation Sindoor. The statement, made during the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre lecture in Bengaluru, marks the first time an official has provided such detailed information about the damage inflicted on Pakistan’s aerial assets during the operation.

According to the IAF chief, India’s surface-to-air missile systems successfully neutralized the aircraft, which included an AEW&C/ELINT plane—a platform designed for airborne surveillance and early warning. He specified that some parked F-16 jets were destroyed in Jacobabad, while the AEW&C was taken down in Bholari. The AEW&C/ELINT aircraft, he noted, was shot down from an impressive range of 300 km.

Providing further operational details, Air Chief Marshal Singh explained that the targets were identified before India’s retaliatory strike on May 7, which was launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

He emphasized that the precision of the strikes was confirmed through satellite imagery. “We have intelligence of terrorists being killed,” he stated, adding, “We could not convince our own people, the amount of damage we have done. Once this was over, we got intelligence that they were planning something, so we were already prepared for that.”

The IAF chief credited the success of the precision strikes to strong “political will,” stating that the armed forces had received clear directions with “no restrictions.” This assertion stands in direct contrast to claims made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had previously stated in the Lok Sabha that the government had “tied the hands” of the armed forces during the operation.