Pakistan lost 12-13 aircraft during Op Sindoor, Pak's narrative on losses to India 'Manohar Kahaniya': IAF Chief Singh

At least a dozen Pakistani military aircraft including US-origin F-16 jets were destroyed or damaged in Indian strikes during Operation Sindoor, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh said on Friday while describing Islamabad's narrative on India's losses as ''fanciful stories'' ('Manohar Kahaniyan').

The Air Chief Marshal also said that Indian action damaged a large number of military installations in Pakistan that included hangars in three locations, radars in at least four places, command and control centres in two sites and runways in two air bases.

Air Chief Marshal Singh was addressing a press conference days ahead of the annual Air Force Day.

On reports that various terror groups in Pakistan are relocating their bases to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province following the Operation Sindoor, he said it was expected and that the Indian Air Force have the capability to go deep inside to hit their hideouts with absolutely accurate targeting.

Singh said the IAF has finalised its plan to expand its combat capabilities under Roadmap 2047 and the force would need 35 to 40 new aircraft including combat jets annually for next two decades to boost its air power.

To questions, he provided details of Pakistan's losses during Operation Sindoor, citing intelligence reports and evidence collected through electronic surveillance.

''What we have gathered from the intelligence report is that because of these strikes, radars at least four places, command and control centres at two places, runways at two places and then three of their hangars in three different stations have been damaged,'' he said.

In hangars as well as on tarmac, we have signs of one C-130 class of aircraft, one AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning & Control) class of aircraft and at least four to five fighter aircraft, most likely F-16 , were hit on the ground, he said.

Sharing details of strikes in the air, the Chief of Air Staff said the IAF has clear evidence of one long-range strike with more than 300 kms range hitting an AEW&C or SigNit (Signals intelligence) aircraft, along with five high-tech fighters between F-16 and JF-17 class.

''This is what our system tells us,'' he said.

While there were reports of damages to Pakistan's F-16 jets in a hangar, it was the first time the IAF confirmed hitting the US-origin jet in the air.

The JF-17 is a Chinese jet.

The details shared by the IAF Chief takes the total number of aircraft lost by Pakistan to 12 to 13.

On Pakistan's claim of shooting down Indian aircraft, the IAF chief called that narrative as ''Manohar Kahaniyan''.

''Let them be happy, as they need to show something to their audience to protect their reputation. It doesn't matter to me,'' he said ''If they think they shot down 15 of my jets, let them think about it. I hope they're convinced about it, and they'll cater for 15 less aircraft in my inventory when they come to fight again,'' he said.

The Chief of Air Staff declined to divulge details of India's losses during the May 7 to 10 hostilities.

''I won't say anything on what happened, how much damage was done, how it happened, because let them find out,'' he said.

Air Chief Marshal Singh also questioned the veracity of Pakistan's claim on damages to India.

''Have you seen a single picture where something fell on any of our airbases, something hit us, a hangar was destroyed, or anything like that? We showed so many pictures of their places,'' he said.

''However, they couldn't show us even a single picture. So, their narrative is 'Manohar Kahaniyan'. Let them be happy,'' he said.

In response to the Pahalgam terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan.

The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.

On the IAF's ambitious plan to procure 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA), Singh said Rafale fighter jet is among the options and the aircraft was to be the best suited during the evaluation for the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) programme.

''Now, whether it is Rafale or something else, it really doesn't matter, but yes, Rafale is easy to absorb,'' he said.

Over 12 years ago, the defence ministry had completed ground work for procurement of a fleet of Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).

However, the project didn't go through.

In April 2019, the IAF issued an RFI (Request for Information), or initial tender, to acquire 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) at a cost of around USD 18 billion.

It was billed as one of the world's biggest military procurement programmes in recent years.

The government is now looking at expediting the MRFA project.

The Chief of Air Staff also dropped hints at IAF's interest in procuring additional batches of S-400 surface-to-air missiles.

The missile system proved to be very effective during Operation Sindoor.

''Obviously, that has done good. So, there's a requirement to have more such (systems); there is no limit to numbers that you can buy. Again, I'm keeping quiet on what the plan (is) whether we want to buy more, how much etc,'' he said.

''It has proved to be a good weapon system. We have our own system also being developed. So we will take a call on that,'' he said.

To a question, the IAF chief said all three services have started working on the 'Sudarshan Chakra' air defence system.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15 announced the project to develop an indigenous air defence system to protect India's vital military and civilian installations and to deliver a decisive response to any enemy threat.

On Operation Sindoor, Singh also said that the world has to learn a lesson from India on how to start and terminate a conflict at the earliest possible opportunity.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)