The loss of an Indian Air Force fighter (IAF) jet during Operation Sindoor has been acknowledged by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, India’s most senior military officer. The CDS declined to specify the losses in terms of numbers but pointed to the fact that the Indian military carried out high-precision strikes deep inside Pakistani territory that, New Delhi said, forced Islamabad to plead to stop the hostilities.
When asked whether Pakistan had downed an Indian jet or more during Operation Sindoor, Gen. Chauhan told Bloomberg TV on Saturday, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, “What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down, what mistakes were made, that are important.”
Gen. Chauhan added, “The good part is that we can understand the tactical mistake which we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and fly all our jets again, targeting at long range.”
While he stated, “Numbers are not important,” the CDS outrightly denied Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s claims that the Pakistan Air Force had shot down six Indian fighter jets, including four Rafale fighters, during the brief India-Pakistan clash. The CDS’s remarks mark the Indian military’s first clear acknowledgment of losses during the four-day clashes with the neighbouring country. However, on May 11, Air Marshal AK Bharti, the Director General of Air Operations, responding to the same question, stated that “losses are a part of combat,” while emphasizing that all IAF pilots returned home safely.
After the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan acknowledged loss of India fighter jets by Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, the Congress on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Government for ‘misleading the nation’, reiterating its demand of a special Parliament session to explain damages suffered during the four-day conflict and also the role of US in brokering ceasefire.
