‘Jet being downed not important, but why’: CDS on Op Sindoor losses

For the first time since trading tit-for-tat military strikes with Pakistan following Operation Sindoor, the Indian military has spoken about its losses in the clash with the neighbouring country, although not specifying the exact number of fighter jets that were downed.

The revelation came during an interview of Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian Armed Forces, with Bloomberg TV on Saturday (May 31).

Doesn’t reveal numbers

However, Chauhan neither directly admitted that the Air Force lost fighter jets nor specified their number. But he did not deny the reports either. Instead, the CDS insisted that “what is important is not the fighter jet being downed, but why they were being downed”.

He said the “good part” was that the tactical mistakes made were “remedied, rectified” and implemented again after two days when all the Indian jets flew again targeting at long range.

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‘Tactical mistakes corrected‘

“I think what is important is that not the jet being downed, but why they were being downed. Good part is, we were able to understand the tactical mistake which we made, remedied, rectified and then implemented it again after two days and flew all our jets again targeting at long range...,” the CDS told Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

CDS rubbishes Pak claim

Asked about Pakistan’s reported claims that six Indian jets were downed, he termed it as “absolutely incorrect”, reiterating that what is important was why the jets went down.

“Absolutely incorrect and that is not the information which I said is important. What is important is why they went down. That is more important for us and what did we do after that. That’s more important,” said Chauhan.

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Contradicts Trump

The CDS’s comments are the most direct ones so far from the Indian government or military regarding the fate of the Indian fighter jets during the conflict with Pakistan that started on May 7.

As for US President Donald Trump’s claim that the US intervention helped avert a nuclear war between the two neighbouring countries, the CDS said that it would be “farfetched” to claim that both countries were on the verge of using nuclear weapons.

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Chauhan said he “personally feels” there is a lot of space between the conduct of conventional operations and the nuclear threshold, adding that communication channels with Pakistan were “always open” to keep the situation under control.

General Chauhan said contrary to Pakistan’s claim, their weapons supplied from China and other countries “didn’t work.” He said India conducted precision strikes on heavily defended airfields 300 kilometres inside Pakistan. He also said that the ceasefire is continuing, adding that its fate will depend on Pakistan’s future actions.