6 Pakistani Aircraft Shot Down During Operation Sindoor, says IAF Chief

Aug 9, 2025 – The Indian Air Force has confirmed shooting down six Pakistani aircraft - including five fighter jets and another large aircraft - during Operation Sindoor. This was the first big statement made by the Armed Forces about the extent of damage done to the Pakistani assets months after the military conflict which took place between May 7 and 10.

"We have five confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT or an AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control System Aircraft), which was taken on at a distance of 300 kms. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about," said Indian Air Chief Marshal AP Singh during a keynote address of the 16th Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru.

The Air Chief Marshal also confirmed the losses the Pakistan Air Force suffered on the ground in the aerial strikes at Pakistan airbases.

“Apart from these (aircraft), there are a large number of UAVs and drones, some of whose missiles had fallen in our territory; we have recovered them. Lot of wreckage has been recovered, which is being studied so we can make out what they did, where they were launched from, what route they followed, what kind of systems they had, what generation they belonged to, what kind of features they had, etc.,” he shared.

Describing the damage inflicted by India as major, the Air Chief Marshall said that Pakistan sought a ceasefire because it feared that if the conflict continued, the losses would be severe.

Hangars in Jacobabad and Bholari in Pakistan were also hit by the Indian Air Force. Some US-made F-16s were destroyed in the aerial strikes. They were believed to be under maintenance at one of the hangars. Another AEW&C aircraft is also reported to have been destroyed in Bholari dealing a massive blow to Pakistan’s air strength.

"We have an indication of at least one AWC in that AWC hanger, and a few F-16s, which are under maintenance there, (were destroyed)," the Air Chief said.

India had struck nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), eliminating more than a hundred terrorists, during the military operations. IAF Chief shared the “before and after” satellite images of the terror targets that were struck.

The major military offensive was carried out in response to the April 22 Pahalgam massacre in which 26 innocent people were killed by terrorists suspected to be Pakistan linked.