India has officially confirmed that it lost several aircraft during the May 7 clash with Pakistan, admitting to the losses in the context of the recent 86-hour conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations.
Captain Shiv Kumar, the Indian defence attache, acknowledged the losses while speaking at a seminar titled Analysis of the Pakistan–India Air Battle and Indonesia’s Anticipatory Strategies from the Perspective of Air Power in Indonesia, as reported by Indian media. He attributed the Indian Air Force (IAF) losses to political constraints imposed by New Delhi, claiming that Indian aircraft were under strict orders not to target Pakistani military assets to prevent further escalation.
'IAF Lost Fighter Jets to Pak Because of Political Leadership’s Constraints’: Indian Defence Attachehttps://t.co/ADjPZWN35x
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This marks the latest confirmation of air losses, following an earlier statement by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, who also acknowledged fighter jet losses in the May conflict during an interview at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. However, Chauhan declined to confirm the exact number of aircraft lost, stating that the reasons behind the aircraft being downed were more significant than the number of losses themselves.
While India has been cautious about the details of its fighter jet losses, Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy admitted in May that Pakistan downed five Indian jets, including Rafales. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has consistently claimed to have shot down at least six Indian fighter jets, including three Rafales, which were purchased by India under the Narendra Modi-led government to enhance the IAF’s capabilities.
