IAF Reveals Record-Breaking 300 km Air Strike on Pakistani Aircraft During Operation Sindoor
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Nearly three months after Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has disclosed details of a landmark long-range air strike that military experts call unprecedented in modern aerial warfare history.
Speaking at a lecture in Bengaluru on Saturday, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh revealed that on May 7, a major Pakistani airborne platform—believed to be an Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) or Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft—was shot down from a distance of around 300 km.
Calling it the longest-recorded surface-to-air kill by range, Singh clarified that the record pertains to distance, not aircraft size. As the wreckage fell inside enemy territory, independent verification is challenging, but the event was confirmed via electronic tracking: the radar blip appeared, then vanished—indicating the target was destroyed.
Achieving such a strike requires a long-range interceptor missile, precise tracking, stable target lock, and continuous guidance—capabilities India recently gained after inducting the Russian S-400 missile system with a 400 km strike range. The system forced Pakistani aircraft to stay far enough away to prevent even long-range glide bomb usage.
Few such engagements exist in history—Ukraine claimed in February 2024 to have downed a Russian A-50 reconnaissance aircraft at over 200 km, and in February 2022, a Ukrainian Su-27 was destroyed by a Russian S-400 at ~150 km. However, a 300 km confirmed strike remains an extremely rare public record.