Amid escalating tensions, India damages Pakistani F-16 Jet near border: Report

New Delhi countered an aerial attack by Pakistan on the night of May 7 and hit its air defence system.

The heavy cross-border exchange between India and Pakistan on the night of May 7-8, was a major embarrassment for Islamabad, with India damaging a Pak F-16 fighter jet when it was conducting reconnaissance near the border, reported CNN-News18 attributing the detail to an exclusive source. However, the publication said that confirmation on the final outcome is awaited.

Pakistan’s loitering munitions and Kamikaze drones targeted Indian radar installations and military positions. The objective was to disable India’s air defence surveillance to enable follow-up strikes. However, India successfully destroyed a barrage of missiles targeting Indian military installations,

New Delhi countered an aerial attack by Pakistan on the night of May 7 and hit its air defence system. India's strike destroyed the HQ-9P and HQ-16 missile defence systems, built reportedly by China and customised for Pakistan. China uses the HQ-9 system, with a longer range of surface-to-air missiles, for its defence.

According to reports, the Indian counterstrike on the intervening night of May 7 and 8 also destroyed HQ-16A systems. The medium-range HQ-16 system is used to protect airfields, critical bridges, military centres and other high-value assets.

The Defence Ministry said Indian forces responded to Pakistan’s missile strikes by targeting and destroying several of its air defence radars and systems across multiple locations. "Today morning Indian Armed Forces targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan. Indian response has been in the same domain with the same intensity as Pakistan. It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised," the ministry said in a statement.