Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh on Friday rejected Pakistan’s claims about Operation Sindoor and provided a detailed account of the damage inflicted on Islamabad during the May strikes.
AP Singh was responding to a question at the 93rd Air Force Day celebrations in Delhi when he said, “We struck a large number of their airfield and we struck a large number of installations.”
He went on to outline the extensive losses suffered by Pakistan, saying the Indian strikes hit “radars at least four places, command and control centres at two places, runways of course damaged at two places, then three of their hangars in three different stations have been damaged.”
“We have signs of one C-130 class of aircraft...and at least 4 to 5 fighter aircraft, most likely F-16, because that place happened to be F-16 with whatever was under maintenance at that time,” he added.
The list did not end there. The Air Force chief marshal said, “Along with that, one SAM system has been destroyed...We have clear evidence of one long-range strike, which I talked about 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—this is what our system tells us.”
‘I hope Pakistan’s convinced'
AP Singh also mocked Islamabad for claiming it had downed Indian jets, calling them “manohar kahaniyan (fascinating tales).” He added, “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.”
{{/usCountry}}AP Singh also mocked Islamabad for claiming it had downed Indian jets, calling them “manohar kahaniyan (fascinating tales).” He added, “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.”
{{/usCountry}}This is not the first time the Air Force has claimed Pakistani aircraft losses during Operation Sindoor. In August, the Air Chief Marshal said five Pakistani jets had been shot down by S-400 air defence systems.
Pakistan PM's fake claims
The remarks come days after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed at the UN General Assembly that his forces had downed seven Indian jets.
“Our falcons took flight and etched their answer across the skies, resulting in seven of the Indian jets turning to scrap and dust,” he had said, without presenting any evidence to support his claims.
India countered these assertions the following day through Petal Gahlot, First Secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN. "If destroyed runways and burnt-out hangars look like victory, as the prime minister claimed, Pakistan is welcome to enjoy it," Gahlot said in a sharp rebuttal.
New Delhi and Islamabad have shared a bitter history for decades, largely due to Pakistan’s support for terror organisations on its soil. However. relations hit a new low after the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
In response, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes reportedly killed over 100 terrorists before Islamabad requested a ceasefire on May 10.