India shot down six Pakistani aircraft during Operation Sindoor: IAF Chief

First confirmation from a high-ranking official:

- BY S VENKAT NARAYAN Our Special Correspondent

Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Amar Preet Singh on Saturday said the forces shot down five Pakistani jets and one airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft during Operation Sindoor.

The IAF Chief's remark is the first confirmation from any highranking official of the number of Pakistani jets India damaged during its cross-border anti-terror operation. He described the engagement with Pakistan as one of the most decisive uses of air power in India's history.

"We have five confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT aircraft or an AEW&C aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometres. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about," the Air Chief Marshal said.

He was speaking at the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru.

"In 88-90 hours of war (May 7-10, 2025), we were able to do so much damage to their (Pakistan) system that it was very clear in their mind that, in the current situation, if they continue, they are going to continue paying for it more and more, Singh said.

With the long-range precision strikes unnerving Pakistan, it came forward and sent a message to the Indian DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) Singh said that the key reason for the operation's success was the presence of political will, and claimed that if there were any constraints, they were self-made. This statement which trashes US President Donald Trump's repeated assertions that he used trade as leverage to materialise a truce between India and Pakistan.