Indian Air Force Chief Amar Preet Singh on Saturday confirmed that the IAF shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one large airborne surveillance aircraft during Operation Sindoor. Speaking at the Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru, he described it as the largest recorded surface-to-air kill on record.
Speaking in Bengaluru, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh recalled a moment long imagined by many in uniform. “Sargodha, we’ve grown up in our Air Force, dreaming about days like this, someday we’ll get a chance to go there. So it just so happens that I got my chance just before I retired… So we took on the airfield there…”
This was Operation Sindoor, India’s cross-border mission that Singh has now detailed for the first time.
Confirmed kills and record strike
Singh said the IAF brought down five Pakistani fighter aircraft and one large airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) or electronic intelligence (ELINT) plane.
“We have five 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 told the audience at the Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katre Memorial Lecture.
The strikes targeted critical military infrastructure. At Shahbaz Jacobabad airfield, an F-16 hangar was half destroyed and aircraft inside were damaged. Two command and control centres — Murid and Chaklala — were hit, along with at least six radar sites. Singh said there were indications an AEW&C aircraft and several F-16s under maintenance were present in one of the damaged hangars.
Terror hubs and precision targeting
Operation Sindoor also struck the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed at Bahawalpur. Singh displayed satellite imagery showing the aftermath.
“There’s hardly any collateral here… The adjacent buildings are fairly intact… Not only did we have satellite pictures, but also from local media, through which we could get inside pictures.”
Long-range precision weapons were used, and Singh emphasised the priority given to avoiding civilian harm.
Technology that shifted the balance
Praising India’s air defence, Singh singled out the S-400 missile system.
“Our air defence systems have done a wonderful job. The S-400 system, which we had recently bought, has been a game-changer. The range of that system has really kept their aircraft away from their weapons like, those long-range glide bombs that they have, they have not been able to use any one of those because they have not been able to penetrate the system.”
Political will and operational freedom
Singh credited political leadership for enabling the operation.
“A key reason for success was the presence of political will. There were very clear directions given to us. No restrictions were put on us… If there were any constraints, they were self-made… We decided how much to escalate… We had full freedom to plan and execute. Our attacks were calibrated because we wanted to be mature about it… There was a synchronisation between the three forces… The post of CDS made a real difference. He was there to get us together… NSA also played a big role in getting all the agencies…”
A short, decisive war
“It was a high-tech war. In 80 to 90 hours of war, we were able to achieve so much damage that it was clear to them that if they continue, they are going to pay for it more and more. So they came forward and sent a message to our DGMO that they wanted to talk. This was accepted on our side…” Singh said.
Learning from Balakot
Reflecting on the 2019 Balakot airstrikes, Singh said that while intelligence confirmed heavy militant losses, the IAF had struggled to convince the public due to the lack of imagery.
“In Balakot, we could not get anything from inside, and it became a big issue trying to tell our own people… So I’m very happy that this time we were able to take care of that ghost of Balakot that we were able to tell the world what we have achieved.”
“People got down to their egos in this war… Once we achieved our objective, we should have looked for all windows of opportunity to stop… Some people very close to me said, ‘Aur maarna tha’. But can we continue to be at war?… The nation has taken a good decision,” says Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, backing the decision to pause Operation Sindoor.