NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Amar Preet Singh on Saturday said the forces shot down five Pakistani jets and one airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft during the Operation Sindoor .
The IAF Chief’s remark is the first confirmation from any high-ranking official of the number of Pakistani jets India damaged during its cross-border anti-terror operation .
"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," the Air Force chief said while speaking at the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru.
Singh said that the key reason for the operation's success was the presence of political will, and claimed that if there were any constraints, they were self-made -- a statement which trashes US President Donald Trump's repeated assertions that he used trade as leverage to materialise a truce between India and Pakistan.
Also read: '36th time': Congress slams Modi over Donald Trump's new ceasefire claim; asks PM 'why country's honour is being compromised'
"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," the IAF chief added.
Damaged hangar housing F-16s
Singh said that during the operation, the forces damaged an F-16 hangar in Shahbaz Jacobabad airfield, saying: "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".
"Shahbaz Jacobabad airfield, one of the major airfields that was attacked. Here there's an F-16 hangar. One half of the hangar is gone. And I'm sure there were some aircraft inside which have got damaged there. 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...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," the IAF chief said.
Amar Preet Singh said one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT aircraft or an AEW &C aircraft, 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."
'No Pakistani aircraft could come near the boundaries of Akash'
He said that as far as India's offensive was concerned, "that night we didn't have any hold bar and we decided that we would go attack at Pan Front, we would stretch resources".
"None of their aircraft could come anywhere near the boundaries of Akash and even MRSAM. All their aircraft were taken on by LRSAM because they were trying to stay away, but still they were within our range at times, and that is the opportunity targets that we got. As far as our offensive was concerned, that night we didn't have any hold bar and we decided that we would go attack at Pan Front, we would stretch resources. The idea was once again not to attack one particular airfield and decimate that airfield. The idea was to give him that feeling or give him that indication that look, we can attack you deep inside, at will, wherever we want to...Bholari, an AEW&C hangar, was attacked. And here we have a very clear hint that there was an aircraft in sight when this attack took place," he said.
Also read: From sisters worldwide, Op Sindoor heroes recieve 65k rakhis
He also said that India's air defence systems did a wonderful job and praised the S-400 system, calling it a game-changer.
"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," the IAF chief said.
He said that India's long-range, accurate weapons were used in the operation, and special emphasis was given to avoid civilian casualties.
Showing the before and after images of the damage India caused at Bahawalpur, where the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed's headquarters are located, Singh said: "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."
The IAF chief said: "People got down to their egos in the 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."
The IAF Chief’s remark is the first confirmation from any high-ranking official of the number of Pakistani jets India damaged during its cross-border anti-terror operation .
"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," the Air Force chief said while speaking at the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru.
Singh said that the key reason for the operation's success was the presence of political will, and claimed that if there were any constraints, they were self-made -- a statement which trashes US President Donald Trump's repeated assertions that he used trade as leverage to materialise a truce between India and Pakistan.
Also read: '36th time': Congress slams Modi over Donald Trump's new ceasefire claim; asks PM 'why country's honour is being compromised'
"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," the IAF chief added.
Damaged hangar housing F-16s
Singh said that during the operation, the forces damaged an F-16 hangar in Shahbaz Jacobabad airfield, saying: "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".
"Shahbaz Jacobabad airfield, one of the major airfields that was attacked. Here there's an F-16 hangar. One half of the hangar is gone. And I'm sure there were some aircraft inside which have got damaged there. 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...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," the IAF chief said.
Amar Preet Singh said one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT aircraft or an AEW &C aircraft, 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."
'No Pakistani aircraft could come near the boundaries of Akash'
He said that as far as India's offensive was concerned, "that night we didn't have any hold bar and we decided that we would go attack at Pan Front, we would stretch resources".
"None of their aircraft could come anywhere near the boundaries of Akash and even MRSAM. All their aircraft were taken on by LRSAM because they were trying to stay away, but still they were within our range at times, and that is the opportunity targets that we got. As far as our offensive was concerned, that night we didn't have any hold bar and we decided that we would go attack at Pan Front, we would stretch resources. The idea was once again not to attack one particular airfield and decimate that airfield. The idea was to give him that feeling or give him that indication that look, we can attack you deep inside, at will, wherever we want to...Bholari, an AEW&C hangar, was attacked. And here we have a very clear hint that there was an aircraft in sight when this attack took place," he said.
Also read: From sisters worldwide, Op Sindoor heroes recieve 65k rakhis
He also said that India's air defence systems did a wonderful job and praised the S-400 system, calling it a game-changer.
"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," the IAF chief said.
He said that India's long-range, accurate weapons were used in the operation, and special emphasis was given to avoid civilian casualties.
Showing the before and after images of the damage India caused at Bahawalpur, where the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed's headquarters are located, Singh said: "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."
The IAF chief said: "People got down to their egos in the 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."
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