Air Chief Marshal AP Singh revealed that during Operation Sindoor, the Indian Armed Forces destroyed at least five Pakistani fighter jets and one large aircraft, marking the largest recorded surface-to-air kill at about 300 km.
Bengaluru (Karnataka): Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, on Saturday, August 9, said that the Indian Armed Forces had destroyed at least five Pakistani fighter aircraft and one large aircraft during Operation Sindoor. The Air Chief revealed the information about India’s damage to Pakistan’s defence capabilities, while addressing an event at the Hal Management Academy.
“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,” Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said. Listing other damages on Pakistan’s defence capabilities, the Air Chief said, “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. Two SAGW systems that is in Lahore and Okara. We attacked three hangars. One was the Sukkur UAV hangar, the Bholari hangar and the Jacobabad F-16 hangar. 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.”
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across 11 airbases, including Nur Khan air base in Pakistan. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, 16 people have been killed due to Pakistani shelling, and 59 others have been injured.
What Was Operation Sindoor?
Operation Sindoor was carried out in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people on April 22, this year. India targeted nine terror hubs across Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and Pakistan and neutralised over 100 terrorists. After the May 7 operations, India and Pakistan reached a cessation of hostilities understanding on May 10. Rajnath Singh had hailed Operation Sindoor in the Parliament, saying that the military operation in response to the Pahalgam terror attack was a “success.”
“If they must ask a question, it should be whether India destroyed terrorist bases, and the answer to that is, yes… If you have a question to ask, it should be whether Operation Sindoor was a success. The answer is yes. Were terror heads destroyed? Yes. If you have a question to ask, ask this: Were any of our brave soldiers harmed in this operation? The answer is, no, none of our soldiers were harmed…,” he further said.
Replying to the questions raised by the Opposition during the Parliament monsoon session about possible Indian aircraft losses, Singh said that their questions did not represent the national sentiments. “In every country, citizens hand over different duties to the opposition and the government. The government’s role is to work for the citizens, and the Opposition’s role is to ask questions of the government on important matters related to citizens. Few members of the Opposition have been asking how many of our aircraft were shot down? I feel their question does not adequately represent our national sentiments,” Singh said.
(With inputs from ANI)