India shot down 5 Pak fighter jets and one large aircraft during Op Sindoor: IAF chief

AT to the lowest degree v Pakistani armed combat jets and a big surveillance aircraft were crack down by Indian air defence weapons, primarily the S-400 system, during the four days of hostilities between the two countries in May, Indian Air Force chief AP Singh said on Saturday, the first official acknowledgment of such successes by the Indian side.Air Chief Marshal Singh, who was delivering a public lecture in Bengaluru, said attacks by the Indian military also destroyed or damaged at least two Pakistani command and control centres, at least six big and small radars, two surface-to-air guided weapons (SAGW) systems, and the runways and hangars at the airbases in Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Bholari and Jacobabad.This is the first time that a senior Indian official has publicly revealed the aircraft losses suffered by Pakistan during the hostilities that erupted after India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 to target terrorist infrastructure across the border in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians on April 22.Also Read: Operation Sindoor: 5 first-time facts about India-Pakistan conflict revealed by IAF chiefSingh, who made a presentation on attacks carried out by the IAF during Operation Sindoor using satellite imagery and videos from Indian weapon systems, said: “[With] the SAGW systems – mostly [the] S-400 – we have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an elint [electronic intelligence] aircraft or an AEW&C [airborne early warning and control] aircraft.”The AEW&C aircraft, he said, was taken out at a distance of almost 300 km, making it the longest ever “recorded surface-to-air kill”. He described the S-400 air defence system, acquired from Russia, as “a game-changer” whose range deterred Pakistan’s combat aircraft.He said India’s military strikes damaged or destroyed at least two command and control centres at Murid and Chaklala, at least six big and small radars, two SAGW systems in Lahore and Okara, the runways at the Sargodha and Rahim Yar Khan airbases, and hangars at the Sukkur, Bholari and Jacobabad airbases.Intelligence reports have indicated that an AEW&C aircraft was destroyed within the hangar at Bholari and some F-16s were damaged at the Shahbaz airbase in Jacobabad, he said. The hangar at the Sukkur airbase housed UAVs, he added.India’s air defence systems and missiles had also destroyed a large number of Pakistani drones and long-range weapons, Singh said. The Indian side recovered a lot of wreckage from these drones and missiles which is being studied by the armed forces and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to learn more about the features of Pakistan’s weapons systems and their launch sites.Singh said that in the initial stage of Operation Sindoor, the IAF was tasked to target terrorist infrastructure at two sites – the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) headquarters at Bahawalpur and the Lashkar-e-Taiba base at Muridke, both in Pakistan’s Punjab province – while the Indian Army asked to target seven other sites located closer to the international boundary and the Line of Control (LoC).Speaking about the Indian government’s decision to respond to the Pahalgam attack that was carried out by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy for LeT, Singh said: “It was made very clear that this time it should be an emphatic thing that we do. We must send the message across loud and clear to them, it should not be something just limited to [terrorist] launch pads and training areas. The terrorist leadership should be challenged.”India has responded to other recent attacks carried out by Pakistan-based terror groups by carrying our surgical strikes on terrorist bases across the LoC or with an attack such as the air strike on a JeM facility at Balakot in 2019.While Singh didn’t give details of the weapons used to strike the JeM and LeT headquarters, reports have said the air-launched version of the BrahMos cruise missile and other missiles were used. He said the IAF decided to “go with long-range weapons to keep ourselves safe from [Pakistan’s] air defences” and since the targets were all “hardened structures”.After the terrorist infrastructure was targeted early on May 7, India’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) informed his Pakistan counterpart that only terrorist targets were hit to “take revenge for Pahalgam”. Singh said India’s DGMO also made it clear there was “no intent to attack any military targets [and] so we can call it off here” but the Pakistani side made it clear they would respond.Pakistan's drone and missile retaliation foiled by Indian air defencesPakistan retaliated with drones, loiter munitions and missiles. It also attempted to saturate air defence systems at airfields and army installations by using a large number of drones but these were neutralised by anti-drone systems and anti-aircraft guns before they could cause any damage, Singh said.After intelligence reports suggested Pakistan was “planning something very big” on May 9, the Indian side decided it would respond to attacks on any military installations by targeting key Pakistani military facilities. When the Pakistani attack came, the Indian side responded with strikes on airbases and other facilities across the border, he said.“That night, we did not have any hold bar and we decided we will go and we will attack pan-front, we will stretch his resources. The idea was to give him an indication that ‘Look, we can attack you deep inside, at will, wherever we want to’,” Singh said.Thereafter, Pakistan’s DGMO sought talks with the Indian side and this led to the stopping of hostilities on May 10. Singh attributed India’s success to “very clear political will” and clear directions to the armed forces without any restrictions.“If there were any constraints, they were self-made. The forces decided what will be our rules of engagement…what will be the escalation ladder that we want to ride on…There were no, I repeat, no restrictions on us,” he said, adding the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Anil Chauhan, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval played a key role in strengthening synergy between the military and other agencies.Singh listed several takeaways from Operation Sindoor, including the primacy of air power. “People have come to realise that air power is the first responder that any country has and air power…can react in quick time, attack deep inside and attack with precision to achieve your objectives without any collateral,” he said.Noting that the effective use of air power resulted in the conflict ending in less than four days, Singh said another takeaway was that the country cannt afford to be continuously at war. “If we can deter, there is nothing better than that, but if we are forced, if the war starts…we should be very clear that we can reach a stage where we can terminate that,” he said.Singh cautioned against drawing the wrong lesson from the use of drones in conflicts worldwide, and said: “Drones are very good means for many things but I don’t think just drones can win you wars. You will require the bigger weapons, you will require the long-range weapons, you will require the precision strike capability because drones are more of a nuisance.”