India shot down 5 Pakistani fighter jets, 1 military aircraft in May fighting, says IAF Chief

Five Pakistani fighter jets and another large aircraft were downed during Operation Sindoor, Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh revealed on Saturday at the HAL Management Academy Auditorium.

"We have at least five fighters 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."

Shahbaz Jacobabad airfield, one of the major airfields that was attacked, he said while giving the details of the operation. An F-16 hangar was hit, with half of its structure destroyed, he said, adding that some aircraft inside were also damaged.

“None of their aircraft could come anywhere near the boundaries of Akash and even MRSAM,” Singh said. “All their aircraft were taken on by LRSAM because they were trying to stay away, but still they were within our range at times, and that is the opportunity targets that we got.”

“That night we didn’t have any hold bar and we decided that we would go attack at Pan Front, we would stretch resources,” he said. “The idea was not to attack one particular airfield and decimate it, but to show we could strike deep inside, at will, wherever we wanted to. Bholari, an AEW&C hangar, was attacked, and we have a very clear hint that there was an aircraft in sight when this attack took place.”

ALSO READ: ‘We dreamed of the day we’d reach Sargodha’: IAF Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh on striking Pak's air base

VIDEO | Bengaluru: Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh reveals satellite pics of Muridke LeT HQ hit by Indian fighter jets, while addressing 16th edition of the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture, at the HAL Management Academy Auditorium.#OperationSindoor

(Full video… pic.twitter.com/e7YOg4kUSB

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 9, 2025

He also shared satellite images from the terror targets that were struck during the May 7 attack.

"We were able to get at least two command and control centres, like Murid and Chaklala. At least six radars, some of them big, some of them small...We have an indication of at least one AEW&C in that AEW&C hangar and a few F-16s, which were under maintenance there...We have at least five fighters 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."

'No restrictions were put on us'
Appreciating the government, the Air Chief Marshal said, a key reason for success was the presence of political will. "There were very clear directions given to us. No restrictions were put on us."

"If there were any constraints, they were self-made... We decided how much to escalate... We had full freedom to plan and execute. Our attacks were calibrated because we wanted to be mature about it... There was a synchronisation between the three forces... The post of CDS made a real difference. He was there to get us together... NSA also played a big role in getting all the agencies..."

Air Chief's jibe at Pakistan
The Air Chief Marshal also took a jibe at Pakistan saying, he got a chance "to go to Sargodha" just before his retirement. Sargodha was one of the key bases hit during India's strikes against Pakistan.

"Sargodha, we've grown up in our Air Force, dreaming about days like this, someday, we'll get a chance to go there. So it just so happens that I got my chance just before I retired... So we took on the airfield there..."