Sipu Jha
NEW DELHI: 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 the Operation Sindoor.The IAF Chief’s remark is the first confirmation from any high-ranking official of the number of Pakistani jets India damaged during its cross-border anti-terror operation.“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 Force chief said while speaking at the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru.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 — a statement which trashes US President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that he used trade as leverage to materialise a truce between India and Pakistan.“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,” the IAF chief added.He also said that India’s air defence systems did a wonderful job and praised the S-400 system, calling it a game-changer.“Our air defence systems have done a wonderful job. The S-400 system, which we had recently bought, has been a game-changer. The range of that system has really kept their aircraft away from their weapons like, those long-range glide bombs that they have, they have not been able to use any one of those because they have not been able to penetrate the system,” the IAF chief said.He said that India’s long-range, accurate weapons were used in the operation, and special emphasis was given to avoid civilian casualties.Showing the before and after images of the damage India caused at Bahawalpur, where the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed’s headquarters are located, Singh said: “There’s hardly any collateral here… The adjacent buildings are fairly intact… Not only did we have satellite pictures, but also from local media, through which we could get inside pictures.”
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