Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on Saturday reflected on the lessons from the 2019 Balakot airstrike, expressing regret over the forces’ inability to convince people of their achievements at the time — a shortcoming he said was finally overcome with Operation Sindoor.
“In Balakot, we could not get anything from inside, and it became a big issue trying to tell our own people, unfortunately, as to what we have been able to achieve. We had intelligence of what had gone on inside, had a human kind of intelligence where we had a very clear picture of the inside in terms of there had been huge damage,” he said while addressing 16th edition of the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture at the HAL Management Academy Auditorium in Bengaluru.
“There have been so many terrorists who have been neutralised, but we could not convince our own people that, look, we have achieved that,” AP Singh added. “So I am very happy that this time we were able to take care of that ghost of Balakot that we were able to tell the world what we have achieved.”
#WATCH | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Speaking on Operation Sindoor, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh says, “…In Balakot, we could not get anything from inside, and it became a big issue trying to tell our own people, unfortunately, as to what we have been able to… pic.twitter.com/S7fJeqnBuZ
— ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2025
Air Chief Marshal Singh noted that the absence of video evidence could have led to similar doubts after Operation Sindoor, but satellite imagery and local media inputs ensured that the footage was “out in the open.”
His comments came in the backdrop of opposition parties questioning the 2019 Balakot strikes.
The IAF Chief also confirmed that the armed forces had destroyed at least five Pakistani fighter aircraft and one large aircraft during Operation Sindoor.
“We have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT aircraft or an AEW &C aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometres. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about,” he said.
Singh listed other damages inflicted by Indian forces on Pakistan’s defence capabilities, saying, “We were able to get at least two command and control centres, like Murid and Chaklala. At least six radars, some of them big, some of them small. Two SAGW systems that is in Lahore and Okara. We attacked three hangars. One was the Sukkur UAV hangar, the Bholari hangar and the Jacobabad 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 there.”
About Operation Sindoor
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives. The Indian armed forces struck terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, killing over 100 terrorists linked to groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
In retaliation, Pakistan carried out cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and in Jammu and Kashmir, and attempted drone strikes along border regions. India responded with coordinated attacks that damaged radar systems, communication hubs, and airfields at 11 Pakistani bases, including the Nur Khan air base. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Pakistani shelling killed 16 people and injured 59 others.
According to the ministry of external affairs, Pakistani shelling killed 16 people and injured 59 others.
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