New Delhi: India has confirmed that a Pakistani Mirage fighter jet was shot down during Operation Sindoor, with the Indian Army releasing video evidence showing the wreckage of the aircraft. The operation was launched on May 7 as a direct response to the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, which claimed the lives of 26 individuals.
At a high-level joint press conference in New Delhi, senior officers from the Indian Army, Air Force, and Navy on Monday shared a detailed account of the operation. The session was led by Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), Air Vice Marshal AK Bharti, Director General Air Operations, and Vice Admiral AN Pramod, Director General of Naval Operations.
Addressing the media, Air Vice Marshal Bharti highlighted the strong performance of India’s indigenous air defence infrastructure during the conflict.
“Our battle-proven systems stood the test of time and took them head-on. Another highlight has been the stellar performance of the indigenous air defence system, the Akash system. Putting together and operationalising the potent AD environment has been possible only because of budgetary and policy support from the Government of India in the last decade,” he said.
Operation Sindoor, which lasted approximately 25 minutes, targeted nine terror-related locations — four inside mainland Pakistan and five in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Defence Minister Rajnath Singh earlier confirmed that the strikes eliminated over 100 terrorists and severely damaged infrastructure belonging to Pakistan-based terror groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
In retaliation, Pakistan launched a barrage of drone and missile strikes across Indian territory, targeting military outposts and civilian areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Rajasthan. Cities such as Chandigarh, Jaisalmer, and Pathankot experienced blackouts and air raid sirens.
India sustained limited damage in Udhampur, Adampur, Pathankot, and Bhuj. Civilian casualties included injuries in Punjab’s Ferozepur district and the death of a government employee in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir.
Air Vice Marshal Bharti underlined the role of domestic counter-drone technologies in neutralising the threat. “Numerous waves of drones and unmanned combat aerial vehicles employed by Pakistan were also thwarted by the indigenously developed soft and hard kill counter-UAS systems and the well-trained Indian Air Defence personnel,” he said.
(IANS)
