Following India’s Operation Sindoor in May 2025, the Indian Air Force (IAF) publicly confirmed downing six Pakistani aircraft, including five fighter jets and one large reconnaissance or surveillance plane, in their first detailed disclosure of Pakistani losses. Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh revealed that the Russian-made S-400 missile system played a key role in these aerial kills. The strikes notably damaged parked U.S.-made F-16 jets at Pakistan’s Jacobabad airbase, with at least two F-16s confirmed destroyed. These attacks, targeting 11 Pakistani airbases, inflicted significant damage on Pakistan’s air infrastructure and forced Islamabad to seek a ceasefire after four days of hostilities. Recently, the U.S. Department of Defense declined to confirm or deny losses of Pakistani F-16s when asked under the Freedom of Information Act by journalist Vishnu Som, maintaining a stance of non-disclosure citing bilateral sensitivities. The revelations and denials came eight months after the operation, which was launched as a response to the Pahalgam terror attack, underscoring the operation’s strategic impact and the ongoing secrecy surrounding details of the conflict.