In a major disclosure, Indian Air Force (IAF) chief AP Singh announced on Friday that India destroyed eight–10 Pakistani fighter jets, including US-made F-16s and Chinese JF-17s, during Operation Sindoor. The revelation came at the 93rd Air Force Day celebrations, where the Air Chief also dismissed Pakistan’s counterclaims about Indian losses as “manohar kahaniyan (fascinating tales).”
Providing details for the first time, Singh said India destroyed four to five fighter jets of F-16 and JF-17 class, along with one surveillance aircraft in Pakistani airspace.
“We have clear evidence of one long-range strike, more than 300 km, which happened to be either an AEW&C or a SIGINT aircraft, along with that five high-tech fighters between F-16 and JF-17 class,” he stated.
Singh described the 300 km deep strike inside Pakistani territory as the “longest kill” ever achieved by the IAF, calling it the highlight of the year.
Precision Ground Strikes and Pakistan’s Losses
On the ground, the IAF destroyed another four to five F-16 fighter jets through precision strikes on radar systems, command and control centres, runways, and hangars.
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The targets included:
- Radars at four locations
- Command and control centres at two sites
- Two runways
- Three hangars
- One Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system
The IAF chief said the strikes, likely carried out on May 10 targeting 11 military airbases inside Pakistan, dealt both a strategic and psychological blow to Islamabad.
“We made Pakistan reach a stage where they had to ask for a ceasefire,” Singh affirmed.
Response to Pakistan’s Claims
The disclosure follows Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s UNGA speech claiming seven Indian fighter jets were downed, a claim India dismissed.
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Taking a swipe at Islamabad, Singh remarked: “If they think they downed our 15 jets, I hope they are convinced about it and they will cater for 15 less aircraft in my inventory when they come to fight again.”
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people. The operation also destroyed nine terror camps inside Pakistan, according to the IAF chief.
