The United States government has declined to provide specific answers regarding the loss of Pakistan Air Force-operated F-16 fighter jets during Operation Sindoor, the intense 88-hour conflict between India and Pakistan from May 7 to May 10. In a statement to national news agencies, the US State Department stated, "We refer you to the Government of Pakistan to discuss its F-16s."
The US maintains a comprehensive understanding of the status of Pakistan's F-16 fleet through the presence of US contractors, known as Technical Support Teams (TSTs). These teams are deployed in Pakistan 24/7 to monitor the usage of the US-built F-16s. This oversight is a condition of elaborate end-use agreements signed by Islamabad and Washington.
These agreements govern the circumstances under which Pakistan can use its F-16s in combat and form the basis for continued US support in maintaining the fleet. Consequently, these TSTs are contractually obligated to be fully informed of the status of every F-16 jet in Pakistan's inventory at all times.
The current US State Department statement stands in stark contrast to information provided by US government sources to Foreign Policy Magazine in 2019, following India's air strikes on the Balakot terror facility.
At that time, in response to queries, the magazine reported, "Two senior US defence officials with direct knowledge of the situation told Foreign Policy that US personnel recently counted Islamabad's F-16s and found none missing." That clarification was issued after India claimed to have shot down at least one Pakistan Air Force F-16 during the Balakot incident.
Now, New Delhi believes that the Pakistan Air Force lost a number of F-16 fighter jets during the May 7-10 conflict. The losses are suspected to have occurred either on the ground, as a result of Indian Air Force (IAF) strikes, or in the air.
Three months after the cessation of hostilities in May, the Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, made a significant statement. On Saturday, he said that the "Shahbaz Jacobabad airfield (was) one of the major airfields that was attacked. Here, there's an F-16 hangar." He added, "One half of the hangar is gone. And I'm sure there were some aircraft inside which got damaged there."
Detailing the IAF's ground strikes, the Air Chief Marshal specified, "Three hangars that we attacked: Sukkur - UAV [Unmanned Aerial Vehicle] hangar, the Bholari hangar of the AEW&C [Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft] and Jacobabad - the F-16 hangar. We have an indication of at least one AEW&C in that AEW&C hangar and a few F-16s, which were under maintenance."
The IAF also claims to have shot down six Pakistani aircraft during Operation Sindoor. "We have at least five fighters as confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT [Electronic Intelligence] aircraft or an AEW&C [Airborne Early Warning and Control] aircraft," the Air Chief said, without specifying the types of fighter jets the IAF believes it shot down.
In response, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif rejected the IAF's claims. He stated, "If the truth is in question, let both sides open their aircraft inventories to independent verification – though we suspect this would lay bare the reality India seeks to obscure." India has not yet responded to this challenge.
Previously, national media had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the US government, asking the same set of questions. The US Department of Defence responded at that time by stating, "The FOIA does not require agencies to compile information, conduct research, answer questions, or create new documents in response to FOIA requests."
Subsequent inquiries to the Pentagon and the office of the US Secretary of Defence for Public Affairs Community Engagement went unanswered.
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