New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) had to fire fewer than 50 weapons to bring Pakistan to the ceasefire table, Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari, Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS), IAF, said at the NDTV Defence Summit.
He shared new visuals and details of Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliatory action following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that left 26 people, mostly tourists from across the country, dead.
“From the list of options presented, we had a large number of target sets. And finally, we boiled down to nine,” the Air Marshal said, adding: “Key takeaway for us, that in less than 50 weapons, we were able to achieve conflict elimination. So this is the essential part which I want you to take away.”
“It is very easy to start a war, but not easy enough to end it. And that was an important consideration to keep in mind so that our forces were activated, they were deployed, and they were ready for any eventuality that would have come about,” Air Marshal Tiwari said.
The VCAS attributed the success to India’s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS), which formed the backbone of both offensive and defensive operations. He explained that the system allowed India to absorb initial impacts and respond with a “hard-hitting reply” that compelled Pakistan to agree to de-escalation.
According to him, New Delhi’s higher directives were threefold: punitive action had to be “visual and visible”, messaging had to deter future attacks, and the armed forces were to be given full operational freedom with preparations made for possible escalation into conventional war.
“The important aspect which worked in our favour was that we were given complete operational freedom to plan any response to enemy actions. And that was a big positive because that shortened our decision cycles. And as you would see in the future when things panned out, we were up to speed with events that were occurring in real time,” the Air Marshal said.
At dawn on May 10, IAF aircraft launched BrahMos-A (air-launched) cruise missiles targeting key Pakistan Air Force (PAF) bases. The first confirmed impacts were at Chaklala near Rawalpindi and Sargodha in Punjab province. Both installations hold strategic aviation and logistics value for the Pakistan military. Confirmation of strikes on additional bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) – Jacobabad, Bholari, and Skardu – came only later in the evening after agencies concluded damage assessments through human and open source intelligence.
By the afternoon of May 10, after several of Pakistan’s more aggressive tactical postures had been repelled by India, Major General Kashif Abdullah, Pakistan’s DGMO, placed a direct call to his Indian counterpart, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, seeking a ceasefire. India responded by saying that it would hold fire so long as Pakistan did nothing to escalate the situation.
