India acknowledges loss of fighter jets in May conflict with Pakistan

India's military has publicly acknowledged for the first time that it lost fighter jets during its four-day clash with Pakistan in May, though it did not confirm how many aircraft were downed. 

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan addressed the matter during an interview with Bloomberg TV on May 31, while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Caliber.Az reports via Indian media.

"What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down," General Chauhan stated. He declined to reveal how many Indian jets were lost.

When pressed about the air losses, Chauhan said, “Why they were down, what mistakes were made – that are important,” adding, “Numbers are not important.”

General Chauhan’s remarks mark the clearest acknowledgement yet from an Indian official regarding the fate of Indian aircraft during the confrontation that began on May 7.

Previously, reports had claimed that Pakistan had shot down five Indian aircraft. Subramanian Swamy, a former minister and senior member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also affirmed that figure. He attributed the losses to a technological disadvantage faced by the Indian Air Force, stating that Pakistan had deployed Chinese fighter jets, which outperformed the French-made aircraft used by India.

“Pakistan shot down five of our fighter jets. It used Chinese aircraft to shoot down our French fighter jets,” Swamy said.

By Tamilla Hasanova