India’s top military official has acknowledged losses following recent military escalation with Pakistan, a day after senior BJP leader and vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Subrahmanyam Swamy, claimed that five Indian aircraft were shot down by the Pakistan Air Force.
On Saturday, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan confirmed the losses during an interview with Bloomberg at the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.
However, he firmly rejected Pakistan’s claims that six Indian jets, including four French-made Rafales, were shot down, calling the assertions “absolutely incorrect.”
“The significance lies not in the number of jets lost, but in the reasons behind the downing—what errors were made and how we correct them. Numerical values are irrelevant,” said Gen Chauhan.
In a separate interview with Reuters, he confirmed that the losses occurred on May 7 during the initial phase of Operation Sindoor. “I can confirm there were losses in the initial stages on May 7,” he said, emphasizing the importance of understanding those losses to guide future action.
He noted that the armed forces quickly analyzed the “tactical errors,” corrected them, and re-engaged Pakistan on May 8 and 10.
“The good news is we were able to identify the tactical mistake, fix it, and re-execute the operation two days later. We flew all our jets again, this time targeting long-range objectives,” Gen Chauhan told India Today.
Contradicting this, the Pakistani military has stated that Indian jets did not re-enter Pakistani airspace after the initial losses on May 7.
On Friday, Subrahmanyam Swamy became the first prominent Indian political figure to publicly state that Pakistan had shot down five Indian aircraft, including Rafale fighters.
In an online interview, he blamed the performance of the French jets and criticized the prime minister’s procurement deal with France.
His comments came as PM Modi held campaign meetings in Gujarat and other states, asserting victory and warning of a stronger stance against Pakistan.
Gen Chauhan’s remarks represent the most candid acknowledgment yet from the Indian military regarding losses suffered during the conflict, which followed India’s strike on nine alleged terror camps deep inside Pakistan. The strikes were in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack, which killed at least 25 Indian tourists.
According to India Today, the Indian armed forces responded using long-range BrahMos missiles to hit 11 critical Pakistani airbases. Pakistan retaliated with a wave of drone attacks targeting Indian military installations and cities near the border.
Previously, the military had avoided confirming whether Pakistan had shot down any Indian aircraft. At a press conference, Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, Director General of Air Operations, said, “Losses are part of any combat situation,” while assuring that all Indian pilots had returned home.
“We are in a combat environment, and losses are a part of it. The question is whether we achieved our mission. The answer is a strong yes,” he said.
“At this time, I prefer not to comment on the loss of aircraft, as we are still engaged in operations and revealing such details could benefit the enemy. But I confirm that all our pilots are safe.”
Gen Chauhan also emphasized that the conflict never approached the nuclear threshold. He stated that “communication channels” with Pakistan remained open throughout to ensure stability.
His comments contradicted repeated claims by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who had said his intervention prevented a nuclear disaster between the two nuclear-armed nations.
“I personally believe there is significant space between the nuclear threshold and conventional operations,” Gen Chauhan told Bloomberg.
The report also noted that during the conflict, Indian missiles and aircraft successfully bypassed Chinese-supplied Pakistani air defence systems to hit military targets.
Source: DAWN
