Pakistan lost dozen jets in Op Sindoor, says IAF Chief

Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on Friday said at least a dozen Pakistani military aircraft were destroyed or damaged during Operation Sindoor, dismissing Islamabad’s claims of causing major losses to India as “fanciful tales” (Manohar Kahaniyan).

Addressing a press conference here, the Air Chief Marshal said the IAF would need 35-40 new planes each year to remain relevant. He batted for expansion of air power over the next two decades, but refrained from putting a number to the exercise.

On theatre commands, he said it was about a new structure. “We need joint structures, but which structures are needed is what we have to think about. Discussions are on. Yes, we do have differences of opinion. We cannot say ‘yes, yes’ to everything. We need to reach a common understanding on what’s best for us.”

Citing the success of Operation Sindoor, he said, “We were able to have joint structures and joint planning. If we cannot have something better than the present structure, let’s stick to it.”

About Pakistan’s losses during Operation Sindoor (May 7-10), the IAF Chief said during the airstrikes on enemy bases, a C130J-type plane, an airborne early warning aircraft and four-five US-made F-16 jets were among those hit. “We have clear evidence of one long-range strike almost 300 km away. It was a PAF signal intelligence plane. Five hi-tech fighters of F-16 and J-17 class (Chinese) were also hit.” He said the strikes were conducted using Russian S-400 air defence system.

On the ground, he said, the IAF struck four radar sites, two command and communication locations, three hangars at separate stations, a missile site and runways at two places.

On Pakistan’s claim of downing IAF planes, he said “their (Pakistan) narrative was ‘Manohar Kahaniyan’”. “Let them be happy. After all, they have to show something to their audience to save their reputation,” he said.

The IAF Chief said Pakistan’s claims didn’t matter much to India. “If they think they shot down 15 of my jets, let them think about it. I hope they’re convinced about it and they will cater for 15 less aircraft in my inventory when they come to fight again… I won’t say anything about it… let them find out,” he said.

The Air Chief Marshal then challenged Pakistan’s claim, 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 happened? We showed so many pictures of their places.” He said the IAF was able to bring Pakistan to its knees in one night of intensive operations.