Air Force Chief: Operation Sindoor Validates Success After Balakot Doubts
Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, the Chief of Air Staff, has asserted that Operation Sindoor successfully dispelled the uncertainty that followed the 2019 Balakot airstrikes. Addressing the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru, Singh acknowledged the challenges faced during Balakot due to the lack of publicly available evidence, which made it hard to persuade the Indian public of the extent of damage to terrorist camps.
Singh explained that during the Balakot operation, the absence of internal evidence became a significant issue in communicating the achievements to the citizens. Despite having intelligence that indicated substantial damage, gaining widespread acceptance proved difficult. “This time, we were able to take care of that ghost of Balakot and tell the world exactly what we achieved,” he remarked regarding Operation Sindoor.
He highlighted that Operation Sindoor was bolstered by video evidence, satellite imagery, and local media reports, which helped counteract the skepticism. Following the April 22 Pahalgam attack, in which 26 tourists were killed, the strikes targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of over 100 militants from groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Singh commended India’s decision to cease hostilities, emphasizing that the operation's aim was solely to punish terrorists rather than escalate conflict. “Once we achieved our objective, we looked for windows to stop. Some people said, ‘Aur maarna tha’, but can we continue to be at war? The nation took the right decision,” he stated.
The Air Force chief further disclosed that India’s air defense systems successfully destroyed five Pakistani fighter jets and a large airborne surveillance aircraft—either an ELINT or AEW&C plane—at a distance of approximately 300 kilometers, describing it as the largest recorded surface-to-air kill.
