India Claims It Shot Down Five Pakistani Jets During May Clashes

NEW DELHI, India — India’s Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh announced on Saturday that the Indian Air Force shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one large military aircraft during clashes in May. This statement marks the first public acknowledgment from India following serious military conflict with Pakistan.

Speaking at an event in Bengaluru, Singh stated that most of the Pakistani aircraft were downed by India’s Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system. He cited electronic tracking data as proof of the engagement. “We have at least five fighters confirmed killed, and one large aircraft,” he stated, specifying that the large aircraft, possibly a surveillance plane, was shot down from a distance of 300 kilometers (186 miles).

Singh described the event as “the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill,” eliciting applause from an audience that included active air force personnel, veterans, and government officials. However, he did not specify the types of the downed fighter jets but mentioned airstrikes also targeted another surveillance aircraft and “a few F-16s” situated in hangars at southern Pakistan airbases.

In response, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif dismissed Singh’s claims as false, asserting that India did not destroy any Pakistani aircraft. He suggested both nations should allow independent verification of their aircraft inventories. “Such comical narratives, crafted for domestic political expediency, increase the grave risks of strategic miscalculation in a nuclearised environment,” he added on social media.

Pakistan confirmed that it shot down six Indian aircraft during the same period, including a minimum of three Rafale jets, although India denied this assertion. Additionally, U.S. officials indicated they had no evidence of any U.S.-made F-16s being struck within Pakistan.

The heated conflict was sparked by the killing of 26 tourists in India-administered Kashmir on April 22. Since the May clashes, both India and Pakistan have continued to engage in intermittent fighting, further escalating tensions in the region.

On Friday, two Indian soldiers and a suspected militant were reported killed in an incident in Kulgam, a district in India-administered Kashmir. Indian military officials also reported two soldiers were injured in the encounter.