'Downing of Pakistani special mission aircraft during Op Sindoor significant'

New Delhi: Air Chief Marshal A P Singh's assertion that Indian Air Force downed a large Pakistani aircraft from a distance of around 300 km, reflected its unprecedented air superiority that dealt a "huge" psychological blow to the adversary.

This is what military officials said while breaking down nuances of the Air Chief Marshal's address in Bengaluru on Saturday where he said India shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and a large special mission aircraft during Operation Sindoor.

The IAF chief described the downing of either an ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) or AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft as the "largest-ever recorded surface-to-air kill" that we can talk about.

"It is significant as there is no publicly available information of a surface-to-air missile bringing down such an asset at a distance of 300 kms or beyond," said a senior military official on condition of anonymity.

The strike dealt a massive psychological, strategic and tactical blow that will be difficult for Pakistan to overcome, explained another official.

If it was an AEW&C aircraft, then the blow was much more significant as every air force globally has a limited number of such aircraft. An AEW&C aircraft provides airspace surveillance and early detection of airborne threats and plays a very important role in an air combat scenario. Pakistan is reported to have six to eight AEW&C aircraft.

"The kill showed we can reach every corner of Pakistan," he added while elaborating how induction of Russian S-400 air defence missile systems helped India enhance its air dominance.

This was not the case during the 2019 Balakot strikes as Pakistani jets came very close to the frontier and mounted a spirited offensive when they came for retaliation.

People had questioned India's air dominance capabilities, said a third officer. Pakistan had briefly captured Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman after he downed an enemy jet during aerial combat over six years back.

Now, it is a different scenario. The S-400 missile systems backed by superior air dominance jets have brought in a different dimension to India's air power capabilities.

Russia has delivered three squadrons of the air defence missile system under a USD 5.43 billion deal inked in 2018. The remaining two squadrons of the S-400 missile system are likely to be delivered within the next one year.

The S-400 missile system is a state-of-the-art air defence platform capable of engaging multiple aerial threats at long ranges of up to 450 kms.

It is learnt that India is now looking at the option of procuring additional regiments of S-400 missiles to further expand its tactical depth.

However, there is another view in the defence circle that India should focus on its ambitious Project Kusha being planned by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Under the programme, India plans to develop a long-range, indigenous air defence system similar to that of the S-400 system.

Following the Balakot strikes, people even questioned the efficacy of IAF's attack but this time, the force produced documented proof, said the second official.

The officials also pointed out how India managed to hit multiple Pakistani installations while jamming its communication systems.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.

New Delhi has been maintaining that India's fierce counter-attack that day forced Pakistan to plead for ending the hostilities.