India admits jet losses in recent conflict with Pakistan

SINGAPORE (MNTV) — In a rare and significant admission, India has officially confirmed for the first time that it lost fighter jets during a military confrontation with Pakistan recently.

The statement marks a major shift from earlier denials and comes amid growing regional scrutiny over the aerial conflict between the two nuclear-armed rivals.

Speaking to Bloomberg Television on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, India’s Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan acknowledged that fighter jets were downed during the escalation, while declining to specify the number.

“What is important is not the jet being down, but why they were down,” Chauhan said. “Numbers are not important. What mistakes were made, and what we did after that, are.”

This is the most direct acknowledgment by an Indian official to date regarding the losses during the May conflict, Bloomberg noted.

Pakistani media, citing government and military sources, had earlier claimed that six Indian aircraft were shot down, including three French-made Rafale fighter jets.

Pakistan’s English-language daily Dawn reported the use of Chinese-made J-10C jets equipped with PL-15 long-range missiles during the operation.

General Chauhan rejected these claims as “absolutely incorrect,” yet did not disclose how many Indian jets were lost.

However, he admitted that tactical errors were made during initial operations and that India responded quickly to revise its strategy.

“We were 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 stated.

The May 2025 conflict, referred to as Operation Sindoor by Indian military sources, was triggered after a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.

India blamed Pakistan-based groups for the assault, although it did not present any evidence to Islamabad or to international observers. In response, India launched airstrikes targeting alleged militant hideouts inside Pakistani territory — a move Pakistan condemned as a breach of its sovereignty.

Pakistan retaliated with aerial strikes of its own and released video evidence allegedly showing downed Indian aircraft, including footage of debris purportedly belonging to a Rafale jet.

While India had previously dismissed these as fabricated, General Chauhan’s remarks now suggest that losses did indeed occur, though under contested circumstances.

The broader implications of Chauhan’s remarks are already being felt. In India, opposition leaders seized the opportunity to question the government’s transparency.

“The public deserves to know the truth. Why did it take so long to acknowledge the losses? What went wrong, and how prepared are we for future contingencies?” said Congress Party President Mallikarjun Kharge in a statement.

Internationally, defence analysts say the clash may serve as a case study in the evolving nature of regional air warfare — especially as both sides deploy increasingly advanced aircraft and missile systems.

According to Bloomberg, U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said their intelligence assessments confirmed the downing of at least two Indian aircraft, including one Rafale, by Pakistani jets during the exchange.

The U.S. had earlier suggested it played a behind-the-scenes role in preventing a nuclear escalation. But General Chauhan dismissed that claim, calling it “far-fetched” and denying that either side was close to contemplating the use of atomic weapons.

Since the conflict, both India and Pakistan have observed a tense but holding ceasefire along the Line of Control.

Recently, Pakistan’s Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, said both sides were close to an agreement to reduce troops at the border, signaling a possible thaw.