Chief of Defence Staff of Indian Armed Forces General Anil Chauhan (C) is pictured on a television screen whilst he delivers an address at the Shangri-La Dialogue Summit in Singapore on May 31, 2025. Photo:VCG

In what is called by media as the most direct comment from an Indian government official or military official regarding its fighter jets' fate in an earlier clash with Pakistan, India's military confirmed for the first time that it lost an unspecified number of fighter jets in clashes with Pakistan in May, according to Bloomberg.  

"What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down," Anil Chauhan, chief of defense staff of the Indian Armed Forces, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Saturday, while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. 

Pakistan claimed to have taken down six Indian jets, including three advanced French Rafale planes, according to Pakistani media Dawn.

In the Bloomberg interview, Chauhan called Pakistan's claims that it shot down six Indian warplanes "absolutely incorrect," though he didn't 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," the Indian officer was quoted by the report as saying.

The Bloomberg report said that "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."

"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," Chauhan was quoted as saying.

Chauhan also declined to comment on US President's claim that the US helped to avert a nuclear war, saying it was "far-fetched" to suggest either side was close to using atomic weapons, according to Bloomberg.

Global Times