• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Indian air force chief claims downing 6 Pakistan aircraft 3 months after clash; Pakistani defense minister swiftly rejects

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Aug 10, 2025 10:24 AM

Indian Air Force chief Amar Preet Singh claimed on Saturday that six Pakistani aircraft - five fighter jets and another large aircraft - were downed during the clash in May. Just hours later, Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif rejected the claim, accusing India of dishonesty and asserting that not a single Pakistani aircraft was hit or destroyed, according to media reports.

Speaking at the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture, Singh said, "We have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT aircraft or an AEW&C aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometers," the Times of India reported.

"This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill," he said, prompting applause from the crowd that included serving air force officers, veterans, and government and industry officials.

Singh did not specify the type of fighter jets downed, but said airstrikes also hit a surveillance plane and "a few F-16" fighters that were parked in hangars at two airbases in southeastern Pakistan, Al Jazeera reported.

He added that India's S-400 air defence systems took down most of the Pakistani aircraft.

In response, Pakistan's Defense Minister Asif has termed the belated assertions made by the Indian Air Force Chief as implausible and ill-timed, Radio Pakistan reported.

Asif clarified that not a single Pakistani aircraft was hit or destroyed by India, the report said.

In a post on social media platform X on Saturday, Asif said for three months, no such claims were voiced, while Pakistan, in the immediate aftermath, presented detailed technical briefings to the international media.

The defense chief also suggested independent verification of aircraft inventories to ascertain the claims.

According to Bloomberg, in a May 31 interview, Anil Chauhan, chief of defense staff of the Indian Armed Forces, acknowledged that India lost an unspecified number of fighter jets in clashes with Pakistan, without giving specific details. He called Pakistan's claims that it shot down six Indian warplanes "absolutely incorrect," but declined to specify how many jets were lost.

US officials previously told they were not aware any US-made F-16sinside Pakistan being hit, The Pentagon did not immediately respond for a request for comment.

According to Reuters, France's air chief General Jerome Bellanger has said he has seen evidence three Indian fighter losses, including a Rafale. The Indian Air Force has not commented on the claim.