The army of India officially confirmed the loss of its fighter planes during the May clashes with Pakistan, marking the first official recognition of air losses in the current conflict.
General Anil Chauhan, chief of the defense of the defense of the Indian armed forces, revealed the information in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Saturday, during the touch line of Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore.
However, he denied Pakistan’s count of six slaughtered Indian jets, choosing not to specify the exact number of lost aircraft.
“What is important is not a breakdown, but why they were down,” said Chauhan. “The figures are not important.”
His comments followed the confirmation of Pakistan, including a declaration by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who confirmed that the Pakistani Air Force had shot down a sixth Indian plane, a Mirage 2000, near Srinagar on the night of May 6 to 7.
Chauhan also discussed tactical errors made during the conflict, noting that the Indian army had resumed air operations two days later and carried out long -term precision strikes.
“The right part is that we are able to understand tactical errors, remedy them and implement them,” he added.
While General Chauhan did not specify the number of lost jets, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata (BJP) party, Subramanian Swamy, had previously recognized the loss of at least five Indian planes during the confrontation against Pakistan.
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Speaking on a podcast, Swamy confirmed that Pakistan had shot down five Indian fighter planes, including Rafale Aircraft, during the military exchange.
He also commented on the performance of Indian and Pakistani planes, declaring: “Pakistan has shot five of our planes using Chinese fighter planes”. He admitted that “the Chinese jets had outclassed the French gusts”.
Earlier, Pakistan reports indicated that Indian forces had suffered significant losses during clashes, including the decrease of three bursts of Rafale, a critical asset for the Indian Air Force.
In the wake of these losses, the two nations engaged in heavy air strikes, Pakistan had declared having neutralized Israeli drones launched by India.
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On the potential for nuclear climbing, General Chauhan rejected such concerns, calling them “eccentric”.
He stressed that there was a significant difference between conventional operations and the nuclear threshold.
In addition, Chauhan stressed that the communication channels between India and Pakistan remained open throughout the fighting, which helped manage the situation.
“There are more subladers that can be used to solve our problems,” he said.
The conflict between India and Pakistan initially degenerated on April 22, after an attack in the Pahalgam region, Jammu and Kashmir (Iiojk), killed 26 people. India blamed Pakistan for the incident without providing proof. Islamabad denied India’s claims and called for an independent investigation.
India then suspended the 65-year-old Industry Water Treaty, canceled visas and closing border passages leading to Tit-For-Tat measures by Pakistan.
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The military engagement also intensified with missile strikes on May 7 targeting several cities in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Cashmere, followed by Pakistan Downing Indian Warplanes.
As hostilities increased, the two countries have launched military strikes, India hitting Pakistani air bases and Pakistan’s reprisals by damaging the storage sites of Indian missiles and other strategic targets.
On May 10, diplomatic efforts led by the United States led to a cease-fire agreement, although the two countries continue to engage in a war of stories.
