In a massive revelation on Operation Sindoor, Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said on Saturday that India’s air defence surface-to-air missile systems destroyed five Pakistani fighter jets and an AEW&C/ELINT aircraft, which is a specialised military plane designed for airborne surveillance, early warning.
He said that some parked F16 jets were destroyed in Jacobabad and an AEW&C in Bholari.
His remarks came while speaking at the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre lecture in Bengaluru, in the first such instance when an official spoke in detail about the damage Pakistan sustained in terms of aircraft and platforms.
Revealing further details, the IAF chief said that the buildings were identified before India’s May 7 retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack.
He noted that the accuracy of the damage caused by the Indian attack was calculated through satellite images.
“The AEW&C/ELINT was shot down at a range of 300 km. The accuracy of the damages was calculated through satellite images," he said.
The IAF chief said that they have confirmed intelligence of terrorists being killed in Indian strikes.
“In Balakot, we could not get anything from inside, and it became a big issue trying to tell our own people, unfortunately, as to what we have been able to achieve. We had intelligence of what had gone on inside, had human kind of intelligence where we had very clear picture of inside in terms of there had been huge damage. There have been so many terrorists who have been neutralised, but we could not convince our own people that, look, we have achieved that…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," he said.
He attributed the causes of success of India’s precision strikes to political will and said that they had clear directions and there were “no restrictions".
Notably, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had claimed in the Lok Sabha that the government had “tied the hands" of the armed forces during Operation Sindoor.
Detailing how targets were chosen for the strikes, Air Chief Marshal Singh said it was decided that strikes would not be limited to launchpads.
“This time it was very clear that we sent an emphatic message to the world… It should not be something limited to the launchpads. But, the terror leadership should be challenged… Other agencies were involved, and we decided to hit those nine targets. The two headquarters were targeted which Bahawalpur and Muridke. Eight agencies along with three services were involved. It was all planned out," he said.
“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 added.
The IAF chief backed India’s decision not to continue the war after the Pakistani DGMO approached for a ceasefire on May 10, and said that it was a good decision by the government.
“People have realised air power is the first form of responders. Our objective was to teach terrorists a lesson. We cannot afford to be continuously at war; we were in a mode of deterrence. 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," he said.
He said that it was clear to Pakistan in the four days of war that they will “pay for it more and more".
“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," he said.
