Did Pakistan down Indian jet during May conflict? What CDS Anil Chauhan said

Anil Chauhan, the Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces, recently responded to a question on whether Pakistan had downed an Indian jet during the conflict with Pakistan in May.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Gen Anil Chauhan didn't deny the claim and said, “What is important is not the jet being down, but why they were being downed.”

CDS Anil Chauhan disputed Pakistan’s claim that it shot down six Indian jets, but declined to specify how many were lost. He said India swiftly rectified its "tactical mistakes" and resumed high-precision strikes deep in Pakistani territory.

He said, “What mistakes were made — those are important. Numbers are not important. The good part is that we were able to understand the tactical mistake which we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and flew our jets again, targeting at long range.”

The CDC called Pakistan’s claims of shooting down six Indian fighters “absolutely incorrect.”

CDS Anil Chauhan made the comments when he was asked during the interview about the May 7-10 military clash between India and Pakistan.

After Indian launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, reports in international media claimed that a Rafale fighter jet was downed by Pakistan.

Responding to the claims at a press conference on May 11, Air Marshal AK Bharti, Director General of Air Operations (DGAO), had said that “losses are a part of any combat scenario.”

“I am happy you asked these questions. We are in a combat scenario and losses are a part of it. Question is have we achieved our objective? Answer is a thumping yes," Air Marshal AK Bharti when he was asked about reports regarding Rafale jets..

He added, “As for details, at this time I would not like to comment on that as we are still in combat and give advantage to adversary. All our pilots are back home.”

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting at least nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.