Former air chief highlights PAF's superiority over IAF in recent conflict

Former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal (Retd) Sohail Aman, lauded the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) for its tactical precision and superior air combat capability during its recent engagement with the Indian Air Force (IAF), emphasising that India’s air combat preparedness fell significantly short.

Speaking at the Sanober Institute's Roundtable on Operation Bunyanum Mursoos, Aman stated that the Indian Air Force lacked proper coordination and operational readiness during the confrontation.

“The only complaint our boys [PAF pilots] had was that we gave them a tougher time in training exercises than the Indians did in actual combat,” he remarked, highlighting the contrast between PAF’s training intensity and the lack of resistance from IAF in real-time conflict.

He further said that India lags nearly a decade behind Pakistan in air warfare technology, a gap that was exposed during the IAF’s failed attempts in recent hostilities. “

It’s not rocket science. The moment you have control over the electronic spectrum, as we did, you know exactly where the enemy aircraft are,” he added.

Read: What commands were issued by air chief to PAF amid dogfight with Indian jets?

Aman reiterated that Pakistani forces successfully downed six Indian aircraft during the conflict, asserting that this outcome has now become an accepted reality.

Discussing the ethos of combat readiness, he emphasised that PAF pilots are trained to fight until the final moment of engagement. “That is the code of every military, fight till the end,” he said.

He expressed disbelief over the lack of response from the IAF during Pakistan’s counterstrike. “I can’t comprehend as a soldier how can this happen that you don't put up any resistance,” he said. “Is that the strategy you follow that you don’t defend your own country and I think that is what the Indian Air
Force will have to answer to their future generations.”