NEW DELHI, Aug 9: Six Pakistani aircraft – including five fighter jets and another large aircraft – were downed during Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force has said, in their first big revelation of the extent of damage caused to the Pakistani air fleet during the mega military offensive.
Besides the six aircraft that were hit mid-air, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh also confirmed the losses that the Pakistan Air Force suffered on the ground in the aerial strikes at Pakistan airbases.
Speaking at the annual 16th Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Lecture in Bengaluru, Air Chief Marshal Singh credited the Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system with the crucial aerial kills during the May 7 operation that followed the Pahalgam attack.
The “big bird” that was downed was an AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System), the loss of which dealt a massive blow to Pakistan’s air strength.
Air Chief Marshal Singh also shared ‘before and after’ satellite images of the terror targets that were struck during the May 7 attack.
Pointing to the Bahawalpur camp in Pakistan that served as the Jaish-e-Mohammad’s headquarters, he said the visuals clearly show the lack of any collateral damage. “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,” said the Chief of Air Staff.
Muridke, the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters that was among the nine locations struck on May 7, was a residential area for their senior leadership, the Air chief said. “These were their office buildings where they would get together to conduct meetings. We could get video from the weapons themselves as the location was within range,” he said.
India had struck nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), eliminating over a hundred terrorists, during Op Sindoor. The massive military operation was carried out in response to the April 22 Pahalgam massacre in which 26 innocent people were killed by Pakistan-linked terrorists.
