The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Saturday said five Pakistan fighter jets and a large aircraft were shot down during Operation Sindoor, which was launched to avenge the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
During an address in Bengaluru, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said, “We have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT aircraft or an AEW &C 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 added, “Shahbaz Jacobabad airfield, one of the major airfields that was attacked. Here there’s an F-16 hangar. One half of the hangar is gone. And I’m sure there were some aircraft inside which have got damaged there. We were able to get at least two command and control centres, like Murid and Chaklala. At least six radars, some of them big, some of them small.”
“We have an indication of at least one AEW&C in that AEW&C hangar and a few F-16s, which were under maintenance there…We have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT aircraft or an AEW &C 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.”
The Chief of Air Staff made the revelation while briefing on the planning and execution of the operation, which continued from May 7-10.
US President Donald Trump had claimed five jets were shot down during Operation Sindoor but he didn’t confirm which side bore the losses.
The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor hitting nine terrorist bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The military conflict escalated after Pakistan targeted civilians across the borders without any provocation to be aptly countered by the Indian military.
Nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) were targeted and destroyed in 25 minutes of Operation Sindoor.
The terrorists camps were the major training hubs of Pak-based terror groups- Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen.
According to a statement by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the operation was aimed at neutralizing terror camps actively involved in planning and executing attacks against India.
