Less than 50 IAF strikes during Operation Sindoor forced Pakistan to seek truce: Air Marshal Tiwari
The IAF began its offensive on May 7, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-controlled areas.
The IAF began its offensive on May 7, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-controlled areas.
The IAF began its offensive on May 7, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-controlled areas.
New Delhi: Less than 50 precision strikes by the Indian Air Force on key Pakistani military targets forced Islamabad to request an end to hostilities by mid-day on May 10, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari said on Saturday.
Recounting the sequence of Operation Sindoor, launched after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Tiwari said the IAF achieved "complete domination" within days of the campaign.
“We made every weapon count. In less than 50 strikes, we achieved complete domination. That has never happened before,” Tiwari said at the NDTV Defence Summit.
The IAF began its offensive on May 7, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-controlled areas. After Pakistan retaliated on the night of May 9-10, India struck back with full force, targeting military facilities across the front. Some of these, Tiwari said, had not even been destroyed in the 1971 war.
Tiwari emphasised that India had no intention to escalate after the initial May 7 strikes and kept its response “calibrated” to military targets. But Pakistan’s attack two nights later prompted New Delhi to broaden the offensive.
He credited IAF planners and ground teams for ensuring precision strikes without collateral damage despite the risks of using long-range weapons. “It’s not just about pilots pressing the button. It is an effort of the entire team to make sure every weapon hits the right target,” he said.
The four-day confrontation ended on May 10 with an understanding to halt military action.