NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Chief Marshal AP Singh claimed to have shot down 6 aircraft, including 5 Pakistani fighter jets, after 3 months, in the 4-day war that led to a global defeat for India.
He stated, “We have at least five fighters confirmed killed, and one large aircraft.” The “large aircraft,” which might have been a spy plane, was shot down at a distance of 300 kilometers (186 miles).
He declared, “This is the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill,” to the cheers of the sitting air force personnel, veterans, and government and business representatives in the audience.
Pakistan’s military did not immediately answer. An additional surveillance plane and “a few F16” fighters that were kept in hangars at two air facilities in southeastern Pakistan were also struck by airstrikes, Singh claimed, without specifying the type of fighter jets that were destroyed.
The Indian Air Chief claimed that the Indian Air Force had targeted Pakistani airfields and destroyed the aircraft stationed there.
The Indian Air Chief raised further questions about the professionalism of his Air Force by making these claims even after 3 months without any evidence.
On the other hand, Pakistan had even put forward the details of shooting down Indian fighter jets, including Rafale, immediately after the May 7 air war, which was also supported by Indian media reports.
In addition, the Pakistan Air Force hacked the communications of Indian aircraft and even listened to the conversations in the cockpit.
Indian Army General confirms loss of fighter jets
An Indian Army General on Saturday confirmed that they lost an unspecified number of fighter jets in clashes with Pakistan last month.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Chief of Defense Staff of the Indian Armed Forces, Anil Chauhan, said, “What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down.”
He said that the four-day conflict with Pakistan never came close to the point of nuclear war.
During an interview, the Indian four-star officer rejected Pakistan’s claims of shooting down six Indian warplanes, though he declined to specify how many jets India lost.
“Why they were down, what mistakes were made — that are important,” Chauhan said when asked about the fighter jets. “Numbers are not important,” he added.
“The good part is that we are able to 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,” Chauhan told Bloomberg TV.
The comments are the most direct yet from an Indian government or military official on the fate of the country’s fighter jets during the conflict with Pakistan that erupted on May 7.
