Crediting Russian S-400, IAF chief says India took down 5 Pak fighters, one ‘large aircraft’ during Op Sindoor

“We have at least five fighters confirmed killed and one large aircraft, which could be an ELINT aircraft or an AEW&C aircraft, which was taken out from a distance of about 300 kilometres, which is the largest-ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about,” the IAF Chief said during a keynote address at the 16th Air Chief Marshal L M Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru.

He said a key reason for the success of the operation was political will, adding that there were “very clear directions” given to the defence forces and no restrictions were imposed.

He did not specify which Pakistani fighter jets were downed. Initial assessments showed that no Pakistani F-16 fighter was shot in the air.

Giving details of Pakistan’s losses, the IAF Chief said the Shahbaz Jacobabad airfield suffered major damage. “Here, there’s an F-16 hangar. One half of the hangar is gone. And I’m sure there were some aircraft inside that got damaged there. We were able to get at least two command and control centres, like Murid and Chaklala,” he said, explaining the images captured.

“At least six radars, some of them big, some of them small… We have an indication of at least one AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) in that AEW&C hangar (in Bholari) and a few F-16s, which were under maintenance there, ” he said.

He also pointed to the damage in other Pakistani military bases like Sargodha. “We’ve grown up in the Air Force dreaming about days like this, someday we’ll get a chance to go there… I got my chance just before I retired… So we took on the airfield there,” he said.

The IAF Chief said a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones, some of whose missiles had fallen in Indian territory, were also recovered alongside other wreckage. He said these were being studied “so we can make out what they did, where they were launched from, what route they followed, what kind of systems they had, what generation they belonged to, what kind of features they had, etc.”

He also showed the ‘before and after’ images of the damage caused in Pakistan’s Bahawalpur — the headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). “There’s hardly any collateral (damage) 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.

Pakistani fighter jet losses: Visuals displayed during an address of Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh at the 16th edition of the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture, in Bengaluru, Saturday, August 9, 2025. (PTI Photo)

Praising Indian air defence systems, he said the S-400 surface-to-air missile system, which was recently bought, “has been a gamechanger”. The kill range of the S400 system kept their aircraft away from the maximum distance at which they could employ their long range air-to-ground weapons, like those long-range glide bombs that they have, he said, adding that Pakistan was not able to use these as they were not been able to penetrate the system.

Calling Operation Sindoor a high-tech war, the IAF Chief said that in 80 to 90 hours of war, India was able to achieve adequate damage, which indicated to Pakistan that if they continued, they would “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.

He said the security forces were given a free hand in executing Operation Sindoor, including deciding the rules of engagement, the escalation ladder and how to control the escalation ladder. “There were no, I repeat, no restrictions on us. Full freedom was given to plan and execute. I must say that our attacks have been calibrated because we wanted to be mature about it,” he said.

He also referred to the Balakot air strikes, saying it became “a big issue trying to tell our people… what we have been able to achieve”. “So, I’m 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.

The IAF Chief said no Pakistani aircraft could come anywhere near India’s defence systems like the Akash missile and MRSAM (medium range surface to air missile). He said all Pakistani aircraft were taken on by India’s LRSAM (long range surface to air missile), adding that while they were trying to stay away, they were within Indian range at times. “As far as our offensive (capabilities) was concerned, that night we didn’t… hold back and we decided that we would go attack at the front, we would stretch their resources,” he said.

He said the idea was not to attack one particular airfield, but to signal that Pakistan can be attacked deep inside, at will, and wherever India wants.

While he did not mention any aircraft loss on the Indian side, senior Indian officials have admitted to losing aircraft/ jets; the government has neither confirmed nor denied this.

In May, India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan had admitted to losing an unspecified number of aircraft in the operation.

Earlier that month, Director General Air Operations of the IAF, Air Marshal A K Bharti, had said losses were part of any combat. The Indian military had achieved all its selected objectives and all IAF pilots were back home, he had said, adding that he would not like to comment on whether India lost any aircraft. Bharti had said that Pakistan also lost a few aircraft.

On June 10, India’s Defence Attache to Indonesia, Captain Shiv Kumar, had said at a seminar in Jakarta that the IAF had lost “some aircraft”, adding that that it was because of the constraints laid down by the Indian political leadership not to attack the Pakistani military infrastructure or air defences. “After the loss, we changed our tactics and we went for the military installations… We first achieved suppression of enemy air defences and then… all our attacks could easily go through using BrahMos missiles,” he had said.

Countering the Opposition in Lok Sabha earlier this month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said they (Opposition) had not asked how many Pakistani planes were shot down. “They should ask: did India destroy terror bases? Yes. Was Operation Sindoor successful? Yes. Were the masters of terrorists who wiped off sindoor from the foreheads of our sisters destroyed? Yes. Did our soldiers face any losses? No,” Singh said. “Focus on big things, not small ones — else we lose focus on big issues and the honour of our soldiers.”