The United States has reportedly refused to directly address whether Pakistan lost any of its F-16 fighter jets during Operation Sindoor — the 88-hour conflict between India and Pakistan from 7 to 10 May. According to New Delhi, Pakistan’s air force suffered significant F-16 losses during Operation Sindoor — either destroyed on the ground in Indian Air Force (IAF) strikes or downed in aerial engagements.
NDTV reported the US State Department as stating, “We refer you to the Government of Pakistan to discuss its F-16s.”
US Teams Track Pakistan’s F-16 Fleet Round-the-Clock
Under end-use agreements between Washington and Islamabad, US contractors — known as Technical Support Teams (TSTs) — remain stationed in Pakistan 24/7 to monitor the operational status of the US-built F-16s. These agreements specify how the jets may be used in combat and form the basis for continued American maintenance and logistical support, NDTV’s report stated. The TSTs are contractually required to remain fully informed about the status of all aircraft in the fleet at all times.
The US State Department’s current position marks a contrast to comments provided to Foreign Policy magazine in 2019, after the Balakot air strikes. At that time, the publication quoted two senior US defence officials as saying that US personnel had counted Pakistan’s F-16s and found “none missing” following India’s claim that at least one jet had been shot down, as per the report.
IAF On Multiple F-16 Losses in Operation Sindoor Clash
Three months after the hostilities ended, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh detailed key targets in the IAF’s ground offensive: “Shahbaz Jacobabad airfield (was) one of the major airfields that was attacked. Here, there’s an F-16 hangar. One half of the hangar is gone. And I’m sure there were some aircraft inside which have got damaged there.”
Listing further strikes, he said: “Three hangars that we attacked: Sukkur – UAV [Unmanned Aerial Vehicle] hangar, the Bholari hangar of the AEW&C [Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft] and Jacobabad – the F-16 hangar. We have an indication of at least one AEW&C in that AEW&C hangar and a few F-16s, which were under maintenance.”
The IAF also stated that it shot down six Pakistani aircraft in the engagement: “We have at least five fighters as confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT [Electronic Intelligence] aircraft or an AEW&C.”
Islamabad has dismissed the IAF chief’s statements, with Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif challenging India to allow independent verification: “If the truth is in question, let both sides open their aircraft inventories to independent verification – though we suspect this would lay bare the reality India seeks to obscure.”
India has not publicly responded to the proposal.
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