Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh has confirmed that the Indian Air Force (IAF) shot down five Pakistani fighter jets during Operation Sindoor, the high-intensity military action launched on May 7 to target terror infrastructure after the April 22 Pahalgam attack.
Speaking at the 16th Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru, Singh said the jets were destroyed by India’s S-400 air defence systems, along with a large Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, in what he described as “the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill.”
“We have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft… taken at a distance of about 300 kilometres,” he said, adding that the strike also destroyed half of the F-16 hangar at Shahbaz Jacobabad airfield, possibly damaging aircraft inside.
Singh noted that India’s swift, high-tech assault crippled Pakistan’s air defence, taking out six radars, seizing control of command centres in Murid and Chaklala, and inflicting damage that forced Pakistan to halt further escalation.
While India had earlier confirmed downing “a few” Pakistani jets, this is the first official disclosure of the exact number. The statement comes amid recent claims by US President Donald Trump that five Pakistani jets were lost during the conflict — a claim India has consistently rejected alongside any notion of third-party mediation.
