India admits to losing Fighter Jet against Pakistan War

For the first time, India’s Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has acknowledged an unspecified number of fighter jets in clashes with Pakistan in May were lost.

At the same time, he denied the possibility of nuclear war, saying that the four-day conflict never came close to a nuclear confrontation. General Chauhan confirmed this information in an interview with Bloomberg TV at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Bloomberg, the US-based news agency, reported the news on Saturday. He told Bloomberg that the number of fighter jets lost is not important; what matters is how they were lost.

When asked about Pakistan’s claim that it shot down six Indian fighter jets, Chauhan said this was completely false. However, he refused to disclose the exact number of jets India lost.

He added that the important thing is why the jets were lost and what mistakes were made there, not the number. “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 said.

Regarding US assistance in preventing a nuclear war between India and Pakistan, Chauhan declined to comment on Donald Trump’s claim but said both sides stayed away from nuclear war. He added that he personally believes there is a difference between conventional and nuclear war. The communication channels with Pakistan remained open throughout.

Chauhan claimed that the technical assistance Pakistan received from China did not yield real results. China’s weapons and technology did not work. He said the current ceasefire depends on Pakistan’s future behavior and warned that India has clearly defined its “red line.”