India Shoots Down 6 Pakistani Fighter Jets, 2 Surveillance Planes in Four-Day Air Conflict

By A Staff Reporter

In a significant escalation last month, the Indian Air Force (IAF) inflicted heavy losses on Pakistan’s aerial assets during a four-day conflict from May 7 to May 10, according to top sources involved in the operations.

Technical analysis of operational data confirmed that the IAF shot down six Pakistani fighter jets in air battles. Additionally, two high-value surveillance aircraft were destroyed—one believed to be an electronic warfare or Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) platform, which was struck by a long-range Sudarshan missile at nearly 300 kilometers. Another AEW&C aircraft of Swedish origin was eliminated in a strike on Pakistan’s Bholari airbase using air-to-surface cruise missiles.

Sources also confirmed the destruction of a C-130 transport aircraft during an Indian drone strike in Pakistan’s Punjab region. Over 30 missiles, including air- and ground-launched cruise and ballistic missiles fired by Pakistan, were intercepted and neutralized by Indian air defence systems.

The Indian Air Force also destroyed numerous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including Chinese-origin Wing Loong drones and over ten unmanned combat aerial vehicles during the conflict.

The operation, named Operation Sindoor, began on the night of May 6-7 as a retaliatory strike on terror infrastructures across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The conflict ended on May 10 after Pakistan requested a ceasefire following significant losses in the Indian air campaign.

Sources emphasized that Indian forces primarily used air-launched cruise missiles rather than surface-launched BrahMos missiles during the operation. The IAF continues to analyze data collected during the operation to assess its full impact.