Op Sindoor: 9 IAF heroes, including pilots who struck Muridke and Bahawalpur, awarded Vir Chakra

Nine Indian Air Force (IAF) officers, including fighter pilots who targeted terrorist group headquarters in Muridke and Bahawalpur during Operation Sindoor, have been awarded the Vir Chakra, India's third-highest wartime gallantry medal.

The officers who have been awarded are: Group Captain Ranjeet Singh Sidhu, Group Captain Manish Arora, Group Captain Animesh Patni, Group Captain Kunal Kalra, Wing Commander Joy Chandra, Squadron Leader Sarthak Kumar, Squadron Leader Siddhant Singh, Squadron Leader Rizwan Malik, and Flight Lieutenant Aarsheer Singh Thakur.

The operation, launched in early May in response to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, saw the IAF carry out precision strikes deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, destroying terror infrastructure and crippling key military assets.

Speaking at the 16th Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture on Saturday, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh revealed that the IAF had shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one large aircraft in the campaign - a kill count he described as "the largest-ever recorded surface-to-air kill" by India.

"We have at least five fighters confirmed killed and one large aircraft, possibly an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWC), taken at a distance of about 300 kilometres," Singh said. "This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about."

Targets included the Muridke and Bahawalpur headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, Pakistani military airbases such as Sargodha, Sukkur and Rahim Yar Khan, as well as radar installations and hangars sheltering F-16 jets. "We attacked the airfield that had very hard info on the F-16s," Singh noted, describing the strikes as the culmination of decades of operational preparation.

The IAF chief credited the recently inducted S-400 air defence system as a "game changer," keeping Pakistani aircraft and UAVs away from Indian airspace. He also highlighted the role of Chief of Defence Staff coordination and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in synchronising the armed forces and intelligence agencies for the operation.

During the strikes, the IAF also downed multiple drones, UAVs, and missiles that fell into Indian territory. Singh said visuals confirmed the destruction of high-value Pakistani assets, including radar sites and key command buildings.

"The biggest takeaway of the operation has been the primacy of air warfare," Singh said. "Air power can react quickly, strike deep with precision and achieve objectives without collateral damage."