Pakistan’s F-16, J-17 fighter jets destroyed in Operation Sindoor, says IAF chief

Air Chief Marshal AP Singh has stated that IAF destroyed or damaged at least a dozen Pakistani planes during Operation Sindoor. Addressing a press conference, he dismissed Islamabad’s claims of causing major losses to IAF as “Manohar Kahaniyan” (feel-good tales).

Addressing a press conference here, he said IAF would need 35 to 40 new planes each year to remain relevant and he batted for expanding air power over the next two decades, but refrained from putting a number to the expansion.

Related news: ‘Manohar kahaniyan’: IAF chief mocks Pakistan's claims of downing Indian jets in Operation Sindoor

On being asked about Pakistan’s losses during Operation Sindoor (May 7-10), the IAF Chief said during the airstrikes on Pakistan Air Force (PAF) bases, one C130-J plane, one air-borne early warning plane and 4 to 5 US-made F-16 jets were hit on the ground, which were at a base for maintenance.

Counting the IAF strikes in the air, he said, “We have clear evidence that a long-range hit was made almost 300 km away. It happened to be a PAF signal intelligence plane, along with five hi-tech fighters, including F-16 and J-17 (Chinese) class aircraft, according to our system.”

The IAF Chief hinted that the strikes in the air were carried out using the newly inducted Russian S-400 air defence system, a long-range surface-to-air missile system. He added that on the ground, IAF targeted four radar sites, two command and communication sites, three plane hangars in separate stations, a missile site, and runways at two places.

Regarding Pakistan’s claim of downing IAF planes during Operation Sindoor, the IAF Chief said, “Their narrative is ‘Manohar Kahaniyan’. Let them be happy, as they need to show something to their audience to save their reputation. That doesn’t matter to me.”

He further added, “If they think they shot down 15 of my jets, let them think about it. I hope they’re convinced about it, and they’ll cater for 15 less aircraft in my inventory when they come to fight again. So, why should I talk about it?”

Even today, I won’t say anything about what happened, how much damage was done, how it happened, because let them find out.

The IAF Chief challenged Pakistan’s narrative, saying, “Have you seen a single picture where something fell on any of our airbases, something hit us, a hangar was destroyed, or anything like that? We showed so many pictures of their places. However, they couldn’t show us even a single picture. So, their narrative is ‘Manohar Kahaniyan’. Let them be happy.”

Mentioning the S-400 missiles, the IAF Chief said, “The long-range SAMs that we have procured recently and operationalised have turned the tables on them. We could look deep inside their territory and ensure they were not able to operate even within their territory to a certain distance.” He added, “We were able to bring them to their knees in one night of intensive operations.”

The IAF Chief discussed the future, saying, “IAF is working towards Vision 2047. We have drawn out our own roadmap, and we’re working on that. We’re also looking at what’s happening around the world.”

On newer fighter jets, he said, “We’re going in for strategic partnerships with some aircraft and systems that we immediately need. The technology can be brought to India and manufactured in India, which will help us in two ways: quick filling of our gaps and infusion of technology in India, helping our R&D sector absorb and become better in that technology.”