‘Political Will, Clear Guidance and No Restrictions’: IAF Chief on Operation Sindoor’s Success
The Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, on Saturday emphasised that the success of Operation Sindoor was primarily due to “political will” and “clear instructions” from the country’s political leadership.
His statements came in response to remarks made by India’s defence attaché to Indonesia, Captain Shiv Kumar, who had said earlier this month at a seminar that the IAF lost some fighter jets during Operation Sindoor because of political constraints.
“There was political will, clear directions given to us, and no restrictions,” Singh said at an event in Bengaluru, underlining this as a crucial factor behind the operation’s success.
“If there were any limitations, they were self-imposed… We decided the extent of escalation… We had full liberty to plan and carry out the mission. Our strikes were measured because we intended to act responsibly… There was coordination between the three services,” the IAF chief added.
At the seminar post Operation Sindoor, Captain Kumar had stated, “I may not agree with the earlier Indonesian speaker’s claim about losing many aircraft, but I do admit we lost some planes, and that was solely due to political constraints.”
IAF Chief on Operational Achievements
Providing details about the mission’s achievements, Singh revealed that India’s air defence systems successfully destroyed five Pakistani fighter jets and an AEW&C/ELINT aircraft — a specialised plane used for airborne surveillance and early warning — during the offensive.
He mentioned that some parked F-16 jets were destroyed in Jacobabad, and the AEW&C aircraft was shot down in Bholari.
The IAF chief supported the decision to halt Operation Sindoor, stating that egos should not dictate war, and once the objectives were met, India should have sought opportunities to stop the conflict, despite calls from some factions to keep fighting.
“We cannot remain in a perpetual state of war. We operated in a deterrence mode. The decision at the top level was to not prolong the war, and we followed that directive.”
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 civilian lives, targeting nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
