India lost fighter jets during the early phase of last month's military confrontation with Pakistan due to tactical errors that were later corrected, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said on Saturday.
Speaking during interviews on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, General Chauhan confirmed that Indian Air Force (IAF) jets were downed in the opening hours of the conflict, but did not say how many were lost. He also didn't clarify whether the jets were Rafale.
“What is important is not the jet being down, but why they were being downed. What mistakes were made — those are important. Numbers are not important,” Chauhan told Bloomberg TV.
“The good part is that 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 our jets again, targeting at long range,” Chauhan added.
He was replying to a question about Pakistani claims that it had shot down six Indian jets during the May 7–10 conflict, when he dismissed the tally, calling it “absolutely incorrect.”
{{/usCountry}}He was replying to a question about Pakistani claims that it had shot down six Indian jets during the May 7–10 conflict, when he dismissed the tally, calling it “absolutely incorrect.”
{{/usCountry}}During the recent conflict with Pakistan, the IAF carried out coordinated strikes using SCALP missiles launched from Rafale jets alongside BrahMos missiles fired from Su-30MKI aircraft.
In a separate interview with Reuters, the CDS said India adjusted its strategy quickly after the early losses.
An IAF spokesperson declined to comment on the exact number of aircraft lost or the specific tactical errors that led to the early setbacks, when reached out by HT.
‘Losses are part of combat’
Similar sentiment to that of Chauhan was echoed by Air Marshal AK Bharti, Director General Air Operations, in a press briefing on May 11, when he said, “We are in a combat scenario; losses are a part of combat.”
On a reporter's query about the exact numbers of downed jets, Bharti said, “The question you must ask is whether we have achieved our objective of decimating the terrorist camps. The answer is a thumping yes.”
“All our pilots are back home,” Air Marshal added.
He declined to share further details, saying, “What could have been, how many numbers…which platform did we lose... I would not like to comment on that."
According to officials, the IAF struck nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and hit targets at 13 airbases and military sites in Pakistan between May 7 and May 10 under India's Operation Sindoor in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
The fighting involved the use of fighter jets, drones, missiles, long-range weapons and heavy artillery.