India confirms fighter jet losses in May clashes with Pakistan

SINGAPORE: India’s military has for the first time confirmed the loss of an unspecified number of fighter jets during clashes with Pakistan in May.

The confirmation came from the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Anil Chauhan, who spoke to Bloomberg TV on Saturday while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

“I think what is important is not the jets being downed but why the jets were shot down,” CDS said while speaking to Bloomberg TV.

“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 flew all our jets again, targeting at long range.” He added.

Answering a question, the Indian General confirmed the downing of the jets in the conflict with Pakistan earlier this month.

He emphasised that the reasons why the Indian jets were shot down and what the Indian forces did after that were more important.

Additionally, according to General Chauhan, the four-day battle never approached the brink of nuclear war.

Chauhan’s comments are the first time an Indian official has directly confirmed what happened to the country’s fighter planes during the May 7 combat with Pakistan.

Earlier, in his recent interview, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy told the interviewer that the Pakistan Air Force shot down five Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets during the most recent conflict with their nuclear power.

Swamy raised serious questions about Prime Minister Modi’s leadership by declaring that there will be no investigations into this matter while Modi is in power. He acknowledged the Arab supremacy in this sector, and he questioned some of the defense purchases being made by India.

“I think British planes, to put it this way, don‘t compare to the Chinese options, and the French planes so far haven‘t performed,“ he said.

When he was asked about the opposition calling for transparency regarding Indian losses, Swamy replied, “Pakistan shot down five of our aircraft, who were hoping Prime Minister Modi would come out to address the nation honestly about those facts.

The seasoned BJP leader made this bold statement while under growing scrutiny for the Modi government’s defense and foreign policy.