IAF shot down five Pakistani fighter jets, one large aircraft during Op Sindoor: Air Force Chief

Bengaluru: Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh on Saturday said the Indian Air Force (IAF) shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and a large aircraft during Operation Sindoor, describing it as the largest-ever recorded surface-to-air kill by India. The remarks were made at the 16th Air Chief Marshal L M Katre Memorial Lecture here. "We have an indication of at least one AWC in that AWC hangar, and a few F-16s, which are under maintenance there. We have at least five fighters confirmed killed and one large aircraft which could be either an aircraft or an AWC, which was taken 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.

The operation also resulted in a large number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), drones and some of their missiles falling into the Indian territory. Based on specific intelligence, Singh said, the IAF decided to attack the airfield. "So the airfield was attacked and the main building where the planning goes on, which was also used as the civil terminal building at times. As far as the Sukkur airbase is concerned, we attacked the UAB hangar and radar site," he said. "You have the visuals available here — this is the hangar which is flattened, this is the radar site before and after. The AWC hangar was attacked again. Here we have very clearly an aircraft inside where the attack took place," he said. Regarding Sargodha, the IAF chief said, "We have grown up in our Air Force dreaming about days like this. Someday we will get a chance. Just so happens that I got a chance before my retirement. We attacked the airfield that had the very hard info on the F-16s," he added. According to the Air Chief Marshal, the S-400 air defence system, which India had recently procured, has been a game changer. "The range of that system had kept Pakistan's aircraft and UAVs away from the Indian defence system. Because of the S-400 system, Pakistan has not been able to penetrate the Indian air defence system," he noted. Singh also said the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has made a difference in military operations. "The CDS was always there to get us together and iron things out. Whenever we required it, we used to go to the senior leadership and discuss things," he added. The Air Chief Marshal highlighted National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's role in Operation Sindoor, helping bring other agencies and forces together. When the operation began, military chiefs discussed in detail the eventualities, possible outcomes and how India should react, he underlined.

On the takeaways from Operation Sindoor, Singh said, "The biggest takeaway of the operation has been the primacy of air warfare has come to the forefront once again. People have realised that air warfare is the first responder that any country has and air warfare is one which can actually react in a quick time, attack deep inside with precision and just achieve your objective without any collateral." The Pahalgam terror attack on April 23 this year was one of the deadliest in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years. Armed terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists, killing 26 people and injuring several others. Operation Sindoor was launched in early May as part of that response. The IAF carried out precision strikes on multiple targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir linked to terror groups. The operation was aimed to destroy terror infrastructure, neutralise key operatives and send a clear message that cross-border terrorism would invite decisive retaliation. The name “Sindoor” symbolised both the grief of those who lost loved ones in Pahalgam and India’s resolve to draw a firm red line against such attacks