For the first time, the Indian military has acknowledged losing fighter jets during the recent clashes with Pakistan in May 2025, following the Pahalgam incident.
Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defense Staff of the Indian Armed Forces, made this admission during an interview with Bloomberg TV in Singapore while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue. However, he did not specify the exact number of jets lost.
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This admission supports Pakistan’s earlier claims that it shot down multiple Indian aircraft, including Rafale fighter jets, during the skirmishes. On the night of May 6–7, in retaliation to missile strikes by the Indian Air Force targeting six locations inside Pakistan—including several mosques and civilian areas such as Subhan Mosque in Ahmedpur East, Bilal Mosque in Muzaffarabad, and Abbas Mosque in Kotli—the Pakistan Air Force successfully downed six Indian fighter jets.
The Pakistani forces shot down three Rafale jets, one Su-30MKI, one Mirage 2000, and one MiG-29 within a span of 40 minutes. Importantly, no Pakistani aircraft crossed into Indian airspace or engaged in close combat during the exchange.
General Chauhan highlighted that the incident’s significance lies not only in the loss of jets but also in the reasons that triggered such a response. He confirmed the loss of Indian aircraft amid the intense four-day standoff, while reassuring that the situation never escalated to the level of a nuclear threat.
