New Delhi [India], August 9 (ANI): Calling Operation Sindoor a 'great victory', Defence Expert Ranjit Rai on Saturday said that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has done a wonderful job by 'decimating' six Pakistani aircraft.

Reacting to Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh's remark, where he said that the Indian Armed Forces had destroyed at least five Pakistani fighter aircraft and one large aircraft during Operation Sindoo, Rai said that the revelation confirmed that it was a great victory for the Indian Armed Forces.

'...It was a victory. We also knew later, when it became a hot war, that when Pakistan tried to retaliate, we had hit their Air Force bases. The damage was seen by satellites... Today, the tremendously new revelation which the world and Pakistan are going to analyse is that something new has come into the feature. CDS, when he went to the Shangri-La conference, did say that we had some setbacks. But the tactics were corrected. So, you are absolutely right,' Rai told ANI.

'Something very revolutionary has been told to the nation and to the world: that Sindoor was not only a victory but today we know it is a great victory. The IAF with its aircraft, has done a wonderful job, decimating six (Pak) aircraft,' he added.

Earlier today, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said that the Indian Armed Forces had destroyed at least five Pakistani fighter aircraft and one large aircraft during Operation Sindoor.

'We have at least five fighters with confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT aircraft or an AEW&C aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometres. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about,' Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said.

He also credited the 'political will' of the Central government for the success of Operation Sindoor that allowed the Indian Armed Forces (IAF) to conduct the operations without any constraints.

'A key reason for success was the presence of political will. There was very clear political will and very clear direction given to us. No restrictions were put on us... If there were any constraints, they were self-made. The forces decided what the rules of engagement would be. We decided how we wanted to control the escalation. 'We had full freedom to plan and execute,' Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed in the name of religion by Pakistan-backed terrorists. The Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.

After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and also destroyed 11 airbases, including Nur Khan airbase in Pakistan. (ANI)