Five Pakistani fighter jets and another large aircraft were downed during Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force chief said this morning, in the first big revelation of the extent of damage caused to the Pakistani air fleet during the mega military offensive. Besides the six aircraft hit mid-air, at least two more Pakistani aircraft were destroyed on the ground during the Op Sindoor strikes.
Speaking at the annual 16th Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Lecture in Bengaluru, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh credited the Russian-made S-400 air defence system with the crucial aerial kills.
The “big bird” that was downed was likely an AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) or electronic intelligence platform, the loss of which deals a massive blow to Pakistan’s air strength.
Air Chief Marshal Singh also shared satellite images from the terror targets that were struck during the May 7 attack.
“These are the before and after images of the damage we caused (at Bahawalpur – JeM HQ)… 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,” he said.
India had struck nine terror targets, eliminating over a hundred terrorists, in its May 7 military offensive codenamed Op Sindoor, in a response to the Pahalgam terror attack that had claimed 26 innocent lives on April 22.