AIR Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh on Saturday said the Indian Air Force (IAF) shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and a large aircraft during Operation Sindoor, describing it as the largest-ever recorded surfaceto-air kill by India. The remarks were made at the 16th Air Chief Marshal L M Katre Memorial Lecture here. “We have an indication of at least one AWC in that AWC hangar, and a few F-16s, which are under maintenance there. We have at least five fighters confirmed killed and one large aircraft which could be either an aircraft or an AWC, which was taken at a distance of about 300 kilometres.

 

This is actually thelargest ever recorded surface-toair kill that we can talk about,”he said. Air Chief Marshal confirmedthat the Indian Air Force (IAF)shot down six Pakistani aircraft during OperationSindoor, including five fighterjets and a high-value surveillanceplatform, likely an AWACS(Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft. The operation also resulted in a large number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), drones and some of their missiles falling into the Indian territory. Based on specific intelligence, Singh said, the IAF decided to attack the airfield. “So the airfield was attacked and the main building where the planning goes on, which was also used as the civil terminal building at times. As far as the Sukkur airbase is concerned, we attacked the UAB hangar andradar site,”he said. “You have the visuals available here — this is the hangar which is flattened, this is the radar site before and after.The AWC hangar was attacked again.Herewehave veryclearly an aircraft inside where the attack took place,” he said. Regarding Sargodha, the IAF chief said, “We have grown up inourAirForcedreamingabout days like this.

 

Somedaywewill get a chance. Just so happens that I got a chance before my retirement.Weattacked theairfield thathad theveryhardinfo on the F-16s,” he added. According to the Air Chief Marshal, the S-400 airDefence system, which India had recently procured, has been a game changer. “The range of thatsystemhad keptPakistan’s aircraft and UAVs away from the Indian Defence system. Because of the S-400 system, Pakistan has not been able to penetrate the Indian Air Defence system,” he noted. Singhalsosaid thepostofChief of Defence Staff (CDS) has made a difference in military operations. “The CDS was always there to get us together and iron things out. Whenever we required it, we used to go to the senior leadership and discuss things,” he added.

 

The Air Chief Marshal highlighted National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s role in Operation Sindoor, helping bringotheragenciesand forces together. When the operation began, military chiefs discussed in detail the eventualities, possible outcomes and how India should react, he underlined. On the takeaways from OperationSindoor, Singh said, “The biggest takeaway of the operation has been the primacy of air warfare has come to the forefront once again. People have realised that air warfare is the first responder that any country has and air warfare is one which can actuallyreactinaquick time, attack deepinsidewithprecision and just achieve your objective without any collateral.”