In a severe blow to Pakistan’s aerial capabilities, the Indian Air Force (IAF) destroyed six fighter jets, two high-value surveillance aircraft, one C-130 transport plane, over 30 missiles, and several unmanned aerial vehicles during a four-day conflict last month, top sources involved in the operations told India Today.
The air campaign, part of Operation Sindoor, began with retaliatory strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir on the night of May 6–7. The confrontation lasted until May 10, ending after Pakistan reportedly sought a ceasefire following extensive damage inflicted by India.
According to sources, “technical analysis of operational data confirms that six fighter aircraft belonging to the Pakistan Air Force were shot down during the air battles.” One surveillance aircraft — either an electronic warfare or an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) platform — was hit by a Sudarshan missile at a range of nearly 300 kilometers. Another AEW&C aircraft of Swedish origin was destroyed in a strike on the Bholari airbase using air-to-surface cruise missiles.
Sources noted that intelligence inputs suggested the presence of fighter jets inside hangars at the time of the Bholari strike. However, those losses have not yet been confirmed as “Pakistan has not yet cleared debris from the targeted sites.”
Visual confirmation from IAF’s radar and missile defence systems reportedly showed Pakistani fighter jets vanishing from radar post-impact. In another targeted drone strike in Pakistan’s Punjab region, a C-130 transport aircraft was also destroyed.
Indian forces relied heavily on air-launched cruise missiles for these strikes and “did not deploy surface-launched BrahMos missiles during this operation,” sources said.
In one of the coordinated attacks by Rafale and Su-30 fighter jets, a major hangar housing several Chinese-origin Wing Loong unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was struck, leading to their destruction. These medium-altitude, long-endurance drones are part of Pakistan’s offensive aerial fleet.
More than 10 additional unmanned combat aerial vehicles were brought down by India’s air defence systems. The Indian Air Force also intercepted a large volume of Pakistani air- and ground-launched cruise and ballistic missiles targeting Indian airbases.
Sources confirmed that a comprehensive analysis of the vast data collected during the conflict is still underway.
