Indian Air Force Chief Air Marshal AP Singh said on Saturday that one of the reasons for success of Operation Sindoor was strong political will. Saying that people must believe him as he was present at the meetings, listening to everyone, he said, ‘There was very clear political will.’
Addressing the 16th Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru, the IAF chief added that very clear directions were given to the defence forces, and no restrictions were imposed on them. Clarifying that there was no restraint imposed by the govt, Air Marshal AP Singh said that if there were any restraint, it was self-imposed by the defence forces.
Air Marshal AP Singh said that they were given full freedom to plan and execute the attacks on terror bases and then air force bases in Pakistan. He said that there was synchronisation among the 3 forces and the chief of defence staff.
The IAF chief said that the creation of the post of CDS has made a big difference, as he was there to discuss things out, iron out differences etc. He also said that NSA Ajit Doval played a very big role in involving other agencies.
He further revealed that most of the planning were completed before the Operation Sindoor started. After the operation started, there was no much discussion on what to do, and the defence forces had full freedom.
During the speech, the IAF chief also revealed that Indian forces shot down 5 Pakistani fighter jets and an AWACS aircraft in air. Moreover, a few American F-16 fighter jets undergoing maintenance and a large aircraft, probably another AWACS, were destroyed in the ground in India’s airstrikes on Pakistani airbases.
