By Shivam Patel
August 9, 2025
NEW DELHI — India’s Air Force chief has claimed that Indian forces shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one other military aircraft during intense clashes in May — marking the country’s first public statement on the confrontation, which was its worst military conflict with Pakistan in decades.
Speaking at an event in Bengaluru, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh said most of the Pakistani aircraft were destroyed by India’s Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system, with electronic tracking data confirming the kills.
“We have at least five fighters confirmed killed, and one large aircraft,” Singh said, adding that the larger aircraft, possibly a surveillance plane, was taken down at a range of 300 km — calling it “the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill.”
Singh did not specify the models of the fighter jets but claimed additional strikes damaged another surveillance aircraft and “a few F-16” fighters parked at two air bases in southeastern Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif swiftly rejected the claims, saying India “had not hit or destroyed a single Pakistani aircraft” and challenged New Delhi to allow independent verification of both sides’ aircraft inventories.
“Such comical narratives, crafted for domestic political expediency, increase the grave risks of strategic miscalculation in a nuclearised environment,” Asif wrote on X.
Islamabad, whose air force mainly operates Chinese-made fighters and U.S. F-16s, has consistently denied losing any aircraft during the May 7–10 clashes. Pakistan, in turn, claims to have shot down six Indian aircraft, including a French-made Rafale — a claim India disputes.
France’s Air Force chief, General Jerome Bellanger, previously said he had seen evidence of three Indian fighters lost in the conflict, including a Rafale. The Indian Air Force has not publicly commented on those claims.
The Pentagon has also stated it is unaware of any U.S.-made F-16 jets in Pakistan being hit during the fighting.
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