India destroyed 4-5 Pakistani F-16s and one JF-17 jet during Operation Sindoor: IAF chief

File photo: IAF chief AP Singh

Indian Air Force chief AP Singh on Friday confirmed that Indian airstrikes on Pakistani airbases during Operation Sindoor in May destroyed four to five PAF F-16 fighter jets.

Speaking to media on the 93rd Air Force Day celebrations, the IAF chief said that India destroyed multiple Pakistani weapons and defence systems during the Operation Sindoor strikes, bringing the enemy to its knees.

"We struck a large number of installations ... and what we have gathered from whatever reports we got, that on ground we destroyed radars at four places, command and control centres at two places ... runway was damaged at two places ... three of their hangars were damaged," he said.

The IAF chief added that the missiles that struck the hangars and tarmac led to the destruction of C-130 aircraft, one AEW&C class of aircraft and four to five fighter aircraft, most likely F-16s.

He added that the Indian strikes also destroyed a surface-to-air missile system (SAM).

The IAF chief added that India also destroyed a Chinese-made JF-17 class jet during the clashes.

“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,” the IAF chief said.

Dismissing Pakistan's bloated claims of Indian jets being downed during the conflict, the IAF chief said they are "giving Manohar Kahaaniya to their people" and do not have "a single picture of our losses".

The IAF chief credited the unity of the Indian armed forces for the success of Operation Sindoor in May, saying it played an essential role in bringing the enemy “to their knees".

India and Pakistan were engaged in an intense four-day military conflict in May following the armed forces' targeted strikes on terror infrastructure in the neighbouring country as retribution for the Pahalgam attack.

Both countries stepped back from the brink on May 10 after India's strikes on key Pakistani airbases prompted the Pakistani DGMO to reach out to his Indian counterpart.