Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor on Wednesday (February 11, 2026) described the Rafale fighter jet as the “hero” of Operation Sindoor and said the Indian Air Force (IAF) is looking to induct more such Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA), with Rafale planes among the contenders.
“Rafale was definitely the hero during Operation Sindoor among other heroes. The Indian Air Force is looking forward to inducting more MRFA, which is going to be Rafale or any other aircraft under deliberations. A concrete decision has yet to be taken. We are looking for newer generation air crafts [to add] into our inventory,” he said.
On reports regarding alleged strikes on Pakistan’s Kirana Hills during the operation, Air Marshal Kapoor said the IAF had targeted terror infrastructure and several military installations. “Whether we did something there or whether the explosion was caused by something else, we don’t know. These videos were presented by their people; we did nothing beyond striking terror and military installations,” he said.
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