Indian Air Force Chief Amar Preet Singh on Friday asserted that India had shot down five Pakistani fighter jets during the four-day conflict in May, in what both countries describe as one of the fiercest military confrontations in decades.
Speaking at the Indian Air Force’s annual day press briefing, Singh said that “five fighters, high-tech fighters between F-16 and JF-17 class” were downed by India’s defence systems. He also referred to a “long-range strike” carried out during the clashes but did not present supporting evidence for the claims.
This marks the first time New Delhi has publicly specified the type of aircraft it alleges to have downed. Previously, Indian officials had broadly stated that Pakistani jets were destroyed, without clarifying details. Singh declined to comment on Pakistan’s claims of shooting down Indian aircraft.
The Pakistani Air Force has strongly disputed India’s version, insisting that it shot down multiple Indian jets, including French-made Rafales, during Operation Sindoor. Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif dismissed the latest Indian assertions as “implausible and ill-timed,” adding that Pakistan had presented “detailed technical briefings” immediately after the conflict, which were acknowledged internationally.
The aerial dogfights, which erupted following an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, led to heavy exchanges of fire involving jets, drones, missiles, and artillery. New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing the attack, a charge Pakistan has consistently denied.
Both countries have traded conflicting claims ever since. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently told the UN General Assembly that the Pakistan Air Force had turned “seven Indian jets into scrap and dust.” U.S. President Donald Trump also commented on the hostilities, describing how he intervened at the height of tensions when “seven aircraft were shot down.”
The conflict killed dozens and further strained bilateral ties. Diplomatic fallout has spread to trade, travel, and even sports, while India has frozen cooperation under the Indus Waters Treaty — a move Pakistan denounced as an “act of war.”
With both nuclear-armed neighbours offering contradictory accounts and no independent verification available, the true scale of aerial losses remains contested.
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