Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh's assertion of the IAF downing a large Pakistani aircraft from a distance of around 300 km reflects India’s air dominance and superiority. 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 May 7 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". And now, this is the only thing everybody is talking 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 km 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, said the other official.
If it were an AEW&C aircraft, then the blow would be 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 the 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).
Follow us
