The Air Chief Marshal strongly dismissed Pakistan’s repeated claims of having shot down 15 Indian jets.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has once again asserted that it successfully shot down five Pakistani fighter jets during Operation Sindoor earlier this year. The statement came from Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh at the 93rd Air Force Day celebrations, directly countering claims made by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the United Nations.
During his speech, the IAF chief highlighted that India destroyed key Pakistani assets in May. These included radars, command and control centres, airfields, hangars, and runways. The strikes delivered what he described as a “huge blow” to Pakistan’s air force capabilities.
Pakistan, meanwhile, has been presenting what Singh called “distorted facts” on the international stage. At the UN, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had claimed that Pakistan managed to down several Indian jets, a claim that India has strongly rejected.
The IAF chief stated that India has clear evidence that five fighter jets were neutralised. He explained that the aircraft were from the F-16 and JF-17 classes, which were stationed in the targeted bases at the time.
“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,” Singh said.
He added that a long-range strike of more than 300 km also destroyed 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,” he noted.
The Air Chief Marshal strongly dismissed Pakistan’s repeated claims of having shot down 15 Indian jets. Calling these “manohar kahaniyan (fascinating tales),” Singh mocked Islamabad for spreading misinformation.
“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,” he quipped, drawing attention to Pakistan’s contradictory stance.
This was not the first time the IAF confirmed its success in Operation Sindoor. Back in August, Air Chief Marshal Singh had said that India’s S-400 air defence systems played a crucial role in taking down the Pakistani jets. His repeated assertion now comes as a message of India’s preparedness and proof of its military capabilities.
