Rafale fighter jet was hero during Operation Sindoor, says Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor

Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor on Wednesday said that Rafale fighter jets were the hero during Operation Sindoor, and that the Indian Air Force aims to induct more Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA).

Addressing a gathering at the unveiling ceremony of Exercise Vayu Shakti 2026, Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor said that every act of terror will be responded to. He added that the glimpses of Operation Sindoor will be displayed for the public during Exercise Vayu Shakti in Jaisalmer.

The Vice Chief of Air Staff said, "Rafale was definitely the hero during Operation Sindoor. Indian Air Force is looking forward to inducting more MRFA, which is going to be Rafale or any other, which are under deliberations, and a concrete decision has yet to be taken."


"The message from Operation Sindoor was clear that terrorism will not be tolerated. Every act of terror conducted on our soil will be responded to, and there will be a price to pay. You will get glimpses (of Operation Sindoor) of precise targeting (during Exercise Vayu Shakti 2026)... Our work is to hold a demonstration. It is up to those seeing this demonstration to take the message they want from it," he added.

India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, as a response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which took away the lives of 26 individuals. India and Pakistan entered a four-day conflict following India's precision strikes, destroying nine major terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), targeting Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizbul Mujahideen facilities and killing over 100 terrorists in action.

According to the Defence Ministry, inflicted by this heavy damage, Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) called the Indian DGMO and a ceasefire was agreed with effect from 5 pm on May 10, 2025.

Indian Air Force bypassed and jammed Pakistan's Chinese-supplied air defence systems, completing the mission in just 23 minutes using Rafale jets, SCALP missiles, and HAMMER bombs, the ministry said.

Indian Air Force will hold Exercise Vayu Shakti 2026, a firepower demonstration at Pokhran, near Jaisalmer, on February 27. Earlier today, Indian Air Force shared a glimpse of the exercise.