Which fighter jets did Pakistan lose during Operation Sindoor? IAF chief reveals

India downed five Pakistani fighter jets of the F-16 and JF-17 class during Operation Sindoor, Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Amar Preet Singh said on Friday. This is the first time that New Delhi publicly mentioned the class of jets that Pakistan lost during the conflict.

Pakistan's losses included Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), radars, command and control centres, runways and hangars, he said. 

"As far as the air defence part is concerned, we have evidence of one long-range strike... along with that, five fighters, high-tech fighters between F-16 and JF-17 class, our system tells us," Singh told reporters at the Indian Air Force annual day press conference.  "As far as Pakistan's losses are concerned... we struck a large number of their airfields and a large number of installations. Because of these strikes, radars at four places, Command & Control centres at two places, and runways at two places were damaged. Then, three of their hangars, in three different air bases, were damaged..." he added.

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The F-16 is a U.S.-made fighter jet, while the JF-17 is of Chinese origin. Pakistan's military did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Pakistan has said it shot down six Indian fighter jets during the conflict, including the French-made Rafale. India has acknowledged some losses but denied losing six aircraft.

In response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror 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 11.

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The IAF chief declined to respond to questions on Pakistan's claim of downing Indian jets. Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, artillery and drones during the four-day conflict, claiming dozens of people, before agreeing to a ceasefire. Islamabad denied involvement in the Kashmir attack, which killed 26 men and was the worst assault on civilians in India since the Mumbai attacks in 2008.

The IAF chief said that Pakistan have failed to produce any evidence o back their claim of having brought down Indian jets. "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?" Air Chief Marshal AP Singh saud that it is necessary for Islamabad to make such baseless claims to save its face. "We showed so many pictures of their places. However, they couldn't show us even a single picture. So their narrative is 'Manohar Kahaniyan'. Let them be happy, after all, they also have to show something to their audience to save their reputation. That doesn't matter to me.""

Operation Sindoor carried a distinct mandate from the start and stopped once India achieved those objectives, he said.

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"A clear directive, a clear mandate was given to the Indian Armed Forces. It stands as a lesson which will go down in history that this is one war that was started with an obvious objective, and it was terminated in a quick time without just prolonging it," he said

India said in July that three "terrorists" involved in the attack had been killed, and there was "lot of proof" that they were Pakistanis. Pakistan's foreign ministry had questioned the credibility of India's account of the events, saying it was "replete with fabrications." Ties between the countries, which have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, have been downgraded since the attack, with the impact being felt in areas ranging from trade and travel to sports. India has also kept in abeyance a key water-sharing treaty - a move Pakistan termed an "act of war".