India’s top military officer confirmed for the first time that fighter jets were lost in the May clashes with Pakistan but dismissed Islamabad’s claims of shooting down six Indian aircraft.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Anil Chauhan said, “The number isn’t important, but the reason they were downed is.”
His comments marked the Indian government’s first public acknowledgment of air losses during the brief but intense exchange near the contested border region.
Pakistan’s military previously claimed that its forces had downed six Indian jets during the engagement. Gen. Chauhan pushed back against the figure, calling it “absolutely incorrect” but did not specify how many aircraft were lost. “Uh, I think what is important is not the jet being downed, but why they were being downed,” he told Bloomberg in an interview on the sidelines of the summit.
In a more detailed explanation, Gen. Chauhan noted that the Indian Air Force had identified the cause of the losses and moved quickly to adapt.
“The good part is we understood the tactical mistake, remedied it, rectified it, and flew all our jets again after two days, targeting at long range,” he said.
The shift reportedly included adjustments in engagement distance, with India adopting beyond-visual-range attack tactics in subsequent sorties.
The Indian-Pakistani skirmish in May was one of the most serious escalations in recent years, raising concerns among regional observers and international security analysts. While both nations have downplayed further hostilities since then, the air losses highlighted the risks of rapid escalation between the two nuclear-armed states.
According to Bloomberg, this is the first official statement from India that confirms aircraft losses during the May conflict. No additional details on the type of aircraft involved or the specific mission parameters were disclosed.