False Bravado

On 9 August, three months after the military clash between India and Pakistan, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh declared, in Bengaluru, that the Indian Air Force had downed five Pakistani fighter jets, and one support aircraft, during Operation Sindoor. Coming from the IAF chief himself, the claim was enthusiastically embraced by supporters of the Narendra Modi government and widely circulated in the media. Beneath the triumphant speech, however, lie troubling questions.

Singh’s assertions had two elements: a description of the operational action, and the supporting evidence, which he characterised as electronic tracking data and radar cross-section signatures. Unlike IAF assertions about the destruction of nine ground-based non-military targets on the first night, which were corroborated with satellite imagery and open-source verification, this statement was not accompanied by any visual or third-party evidence. The proof, if any, was couched in incomprehensible technical jargon. The absence of wreckage, corroborative pilot accounts or neutral confirmation by the international media mean that the claim of destroying six aircraft remains unsubstantiated and exists largely within India’s military officialdom and the Modi-supporting ecosystem.

Further, Singh’s extraordinary claim was delivered casually, during a keynote lecture at the HAL Management Academy, without any detailed explanation. International media reporting had, in large parts, validated the IAF’s earlier claims about successful attacks on 10 May on some Pakistan Air Force bases, but there had not been a single word or account about this scale of losses being inflicted on the PAF during the operation. In fact, prior to Singh’s claim, not even the most propagandist media outlets in India could have claimed such a massive success for the IAF.

In fact, the IAF chief’s speech was no ordinary operational update. Rather, it seemed meticulously choreographed to evoke national pride and champion the Modi government. “If I can say what were the reasons for success, one which I can think of is that there was political will” Singh said. “There was very clear political will, very clear directions which were given to us and there were no kind of restrictions which were put on us.” Every line was calibrated for an audience craving reassurance and celebration. Military facts, however, are meant to be universal, verifiable and free of hyperbole. The strength of any operational statement lies in its evidence, supporting details and the capacity to sway not just supporters at home, but convince sceptical observers abroad.