India Air Force Lieutenant General Downplays Jet Shootdown: We Are in a State of Combat, Losses are Part of It

Indian Chief of Defense Staff First Confirms Loss of Indian Fighter Jet: What Matters is the Why.

Indian Chief of Defense Staff Bipin Rawat confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg on Saturday that at least one Indian aircraft was lost during the brief conflict with Pakistan earlier this month. The conflict between India and Pakistan lasted for four days, marking the most severe standoff since 1999, with both sides reaching a ceasefire agreement on May 10th.

According to AFP reports, more than 70 people were killed in missile attacks, drone strikes, and artillery fire between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani military claimed it had shot down six Indian aircraft, including three Dassault Mirage 2000 jets, one Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet, one MiG-29 fighter jet, and one Heron UAV.

In the interview, Rawat stated that Pakistan's claim of shooting down six Indian jets was "completely untrue." When asked by the Bloomberg reporter, "There is still an unanswered question regarding whether Pakistan has shot down one or even more Indian jets since the events between Pakistan and India occurred," Rawat replied, "What matters is not that the jet was shot down, but why it happened."

When pressed by the reporter about whether at least one Indian military jet was indeed shot down, Rawat responded, "Yes, so why (was it shot down)? The good thing is that we can understand our tactical errors, correct them, adjust them, and then implement them again two days later, as I said, allowing all aircraft to conduct long-range targeting."

Rawat reiterated that it is more important to understand why Indian military aircraft were shot down than the number claimed by Pakistan. New Delhi has not yet responded to his remarks. On May 11th, the day after the ceasefire, Indian Air Force Lieutenant General Bhati stated in an interview, "All our pilots have returned home," adding, "We are in a state of combat, losses are part of it."

A senior security source told AFP that three Indian aircraft crashed within their own territory, but did not specify the types of aircraft or the reasons for the crashes. However, until Rawat made the above comments during his interview on Saturday, India had not officially confirmed any aircraft losses.

Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1833661260330249/

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