US Position Shifts From 2019 Transparency To Silence On Pakistan's F-16 Losses During Operation Sindoor: Report

The United States has reportedly declined to confirm whether any Pakistan Air Force operated F-16 jets were lost in Operation Sindoor, the 88-hour India–Pakistan clash between 7 and 10 May, NDTV reported.

The US State department, in a statement to NDTV, stated: “We refer you to the Government of Pakistan to discuss its F-16s.”

This comes even as US contractors, called Technical Support Teams (TSTs), reportedly maintain round-the-clock oversight of Pakistan’s US-built F-16s.

These teams are deployed in Pakistan to monitor the use of Pakistan's US-built F-16s, the report said.

Operating under strict end-use agreements between Islamabad and Washington, TSTs ensure Pakistan’s F-16s are used only under agreed combat conditions. These agreements also underpin US sustainment and maintenance support for the PAF's F-16 fleet.

This arrangement means TSTs are contractually required to know, at all times, the exact status of each F-16 in Pakistan’s inventory.

According to the NDTV report, the US response now is a sharp departure from 2019, when Washington shared specific F-16 fleet details with Foreign Policy magazine after India’s Balakot air strikes.

Then, two senior US defence officials told Foreign Policy that US personnel had recently counted Pakistan’s F-16s — and found none missing.

"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," they told FP in 2019.

The clarification came after India claimed that at least one Pakistan Air Force F-16 had been shot down at the time.

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