India dismisses Pak's claim of downing six planes but confirms loss of fighter jets for the first time

The Indian military has acknowledged the loss of fighter jets in its recent standoff with Pakistan for the first time, reported Bloomberg on Saturday (May 31).

Anil Chauhan, chief of defence staff of the Indian Armed Forces, told Bloomberg that it was important for India to ascertain why the jets were downed. He also dismissed Pakistan’s claim of downing six Indian jets as “absolutely incorrect”.

“What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down,” Chauhan said, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

“Why they were down, what mistakes were made — that are important,” Chauhan said when asked about the fighter jets. “Numbers are not important,” he added.

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“The good part is that we are able to understand the tactical mistake which we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and flew all our jets again, targeting at long range,” Chauhan said.

Pakistan’s claims

The Pakistani government, including PM Shehbaz Sharif himself, earlier claimed that the country’s air force shot down six Indian fighter jets, including four French-made Rafales, during the latest military conflict.

However, the claim has not been verified independently, with India now openly refuting it.

India’s Operation Sindoor

Under Operation Sindoor , India struck terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK). When Pakistan launched missile and drone attacks, India attacked Pakistani military. In the four-day conflict that ended on May 10 with Pakistan’s request for a ceasefire  , India struck at least eight Pakistani airbases in addition to other military sites, such as air defence units and radar sites.

The Indian Air Force (IAF)  targeted four air bases, took out an airborne early warning system and neutralised several air defences of the Pakistani forces with precision strikes, forcing Islamabad to seek a truce, according to Indian defence sources.

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The Indian Navy  looked ready to target Karachi Naval Port on May 10 morning with its armada moving 260 miles off Makaran Coast.

India reportedly used its S-400 air defence system in Adampur to destroy a Pakistani SAAB-2000 airborne early warning  system  .

Notably, the target was flying 315 kilometres deep into Pakistan. The S-400 took it out easily as Pakistan’s air defence systems had already been paralysed.