Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has confirmed that the Indian Air Force (IAF) lost fighter jets during the initial phase of last month’s military confrontation with Pakistan, attributing the losses to tactical errors that were swiftly addressed.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, General Chauhan told Bloomberg TV that Indian jets were brought down in the early hours of the conflict. However, he refrained from disclosing the exact number or whether Rafale aircraft were among those lost.

“What is important is not the jet being down, but why they were being downed. What mistakes were made — those are important. Numbers are not important,” Chauhan said. “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.”

His remarks came in response to Pakistani claims that six Indian jets had been shot down during the May 7–10 skirmish. The CDS dismissed those numbers as “absolutely incorrect.”

During the conflict, the IAF conducted coordinated long-range strikes, deploying SCALP missiles from Rafale jets in conjunction with BrahMos missiles launched from Su-30MKI aircraft.

In a separate interview with Reuters, General Chauhan reiterated that India swiftly adapted its tactics following the early setbacks. When contacted by Hindustan Times, an IAF spokesperson declined to specify the number of aircraft lost or the exact nature of the tactical errors.

Echoing the CDS's remarks, Air Marshal AK Bharti, Director General Air Operations, had said during a press briefing on May 11, “We are in a combat scenario; losses are a part of combat.” When asked about the exact number of jets downed, Bharti responded, “The question you must ask is whether we have achieved our objective of decimating the terrorist camps. The answer is a thumping yes.”

“All our pilots are back home,” Air Marshal Bharti added.