‘Political limits’: Why did India lose jets to Pakistani fire in May fight?

An Indian naval serviceman has conceded that the state mislaid combatant jets to Pakistani occurrence during their struggle successful May and says the losses were a effect of “constraints” placed connected Indian forces by the authorities successful New Delhi.

Captain Shiv Kumar, defence attache astatine the Indian embassy successful Jakarta, made the comments astatine a seminar successful Indonesia connected June 10. The remarks went mostly unnoticed astatine the clip until The Wire, an Indian publication, reported connected them connected Sunday.

Kumar’s claims person sparked a governmental tempest successful India, wherever the absorption Indian National Congress enactment called them an “indictment” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

So what did Kumar say, however person the Indian authorities and absorption responded, and what happened betwixt India and Pakistan connected May 7?

What happened betwixt India and Pakistan connected May 7?

Tensions betwixt India and Pakistan escalated into a subject confrontation connected May 7 erstwhile India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting 9 sites successful six cities successful Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir with multiple rocket attacks.

India said it deed “terrorist infrastructure” successful effect to the killings of tourists connected April 22 successful Pahalgam successful India-administered Kashmir. Pakistan, connected the different hand, said dozens of civilians were killed successful the rocket attacks on with respective subject personnel.

Islamabad said it downed six Indian jets successful retaliation, including astatine slightest 3 Rafale fighters. Pakistan subject spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said each the planes were downed wrong Indian territory. An accusation warfare besides ensued, successful which India and Pakistan traded conflicting allegations and claims, but they some agreed connected 1 fact: Aircraft from neither broadside crossed into the other’s territory during the attacks.

In consequent days, the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours exchanged tit-for-tat rocket strikes and drone attacks connected each other’s territory until a ceasefire was reached connected May 10. It was announced by United States President Donald Trump, who insisted helium brokered it – a assertion New Delhi rejects. India insisted each its disputes with Pakistan indispensable beryllium settled bilaterally and determination is nary country for third-party involvement.

What has the Indian naval attache successful Indonesia said?

During the seminar organised by Air Marshal Suryadarma University successful Indonesia, Kumar said helium “may not hold [with an earlier Indonesian speaker’s claim] that we mislaid truthful galore aircraft, but I bash hold we did suffer immoderate aircraft”.

Kumar added: “That happened lone due to the fact that of the constraints fixed by the governmental enactment to not onslaught the subject constitution oregon their aerial defence” connected May 7.

The naval attache said the Indian subject subsequently changed tactics and began to people Pakistani subject installations.

“We archetypal achieved suppression of force aerial defences, and past that’s wherefore each our attacks could easy spell done utilizing Brahmos missiles,” Kumar added.

The Brahmos, a merchandise of an Indian-Russian associated venture, is simply a long-range missile. Indian media reported that India fired Brahmos missiles at  Pakistani airbases connected the nighttime of May 9-10.

What has India antecedently said astir the combatant jets?

After Pakistan archetypal said it had changeable down six Indian jets connected May 7, New Delhi did not officially corroborate oregon contradict those assertions.

When Chinese authorities quality outlet The Global Times reported that Pakistan had brought down the Indian fighters, the Indian embassy successful China described it arsenic “disinformation”.

But subsequently, Indian officials started to suggest that they had mislaid planes.

When asked by reporters connected May 11 whether Pakistan had managed to down Indian jets, Indian Director General of Air Operations AK Bharti said: “We are successful a combat scenario, and losses are a portion of it. As for details, astatine this time, I would not similar to remark connected that arsenic we are inactive successful combat and springiness vantage to the adversary. All our pilots are backmost home.”

Then, General Anil Chauhan, India’s main of defence unit admitted that Indian jets were downed by Pakistan, without specifying the fig of jets, during interviews connected the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue information forum successful Singapore, which took spot May 30 to June 1.

Chauhan’s acknowledgement, made during interviews with the Reuters quality bureau and Bloomberg TV, marked the archetypal clip an Indian authoritative admitted that Indian jets were changeable down. “What was important is wherefore did these losses hap and what we’ll bash aft that,” Chauhan said.

When a Bloomberg newsman asked Chauhan astir Pakistan’s claims that six Indian jets were downed, Chauhan responded that this accusation was incorrect. He added that “what is important is … not the jets being downed but wherefore they were downed”.

Chauhan said India “rectified tactics” aft the May 7 losses and past “hit airbases heavy wrong Pakistan, penetrated each their aerial defences with impunity, carried retired precision strikes” earlier the May 10 ceasefire.

How has the Indian authorities responded to Kumar’s comments? 

In a connection posted connected its X relationship connected Sunday, the Indian embassy successful Indonesia said: “[Kumar’s] remarks person been quoted retired of discourse and the media reports are a mis-representation of the volition and thrust of the presumption made by the speaker.”

The embassy said that successful the presentation, Kumar explained that Operation Sindoor was launched to people “terrorist infrastructure” and the attache was trying to emphasise that the Indian effect was deliberately not escalatory.

“The presumption conveyed that the Indian Armed Forces service nether civilian governmental enactment dissimilar immoderate different countries successful our neighbourhood,” it added successful a barb astatine Pakistan, wherever the subject is the astir ascendant institution.

We person seen media reports regarding a presumption made by the Defence Attache astatine a Seminar.

His remarks person been quoted retired of discourse and the media reports are a mis-representation of the volition and thrust of the presumption made by the speaker.

The presentation…

— India successful Indonesia (@IndianEmbJkt) June 29, 2025

Is this a displacement successful India’s position?

Not really. While neither the Indian authorities nor the subject has ever bluntly linked the nonaccomplishment of jets to the Modi administration’s orders to the equipped forces connected May 7, New Delhi has been accordant successful its communicative implicit its objectives that day.

In a media connection aft India launched missiles connected May 7, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the actions of India’s subject “were measured, nonescalatory, proportionate and responsible”.

Colonel Sofia Qureshi of the Indian army, who accompanied Misri to the briefing, emphasised that “no subject establishments were targeted”.

After the ceasefire, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar told reporters that earlier firing astatine Pakistan connected May 7, New Delhi had “sent a connection to Pakistan that we are firing astatine violent infrastructure, we are not striking astatine the military, truthful the [Pakistani] subject has the enactment of lasting retired and not interfering successful this process”.

“They chose not to instrumentality that bully advice,” Jaishankar said.

The Indian authorities argued that the Pakistani military’s effect to New Delhi’s May 7 onslaught forced it to besides retaliate, culminating successful the rocket exchanges connected May 10.

Why has this reignited the enactment with India’s absorption party?

The main absorption Congress enactment has been asking Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party authorities to pass parliament astir India’s aerial losses during the conflict.

When Chauhan admitted Indian planes were downed, Congress members demanded a reappraisal of India’s defence preparedness.

“There are immoderate precise important questions which request to beryllium asked,” Congress person Mallikarjun Kharge wrote successful an X station astatine the time. “These tin lone beryllium asked if a Special Session of the Parliament is instantly convened.”

Kumar’s remarks person revived those calls.

“The Modi authorities has misled the federation from the commencement – failing to disclose the craft losses during Operation Sindoor,” Congress person Pawan Khera wrote connected X connected Sunday, calling the comments by Kumar an “indictment” of the government.

“No wonderment they are ducking our request for a Special Session of Parliament similar the plague. They cognize they’ve compromised nationalist security, and they’re terrified of what the Congress Party volition exposure earlier the radical of India,” Khera wrote.

Another Congress leader, Jairam Ramesh, posted connected X connected Sunday: “Why is the PM refusing to preside implicit an all-party gathering and instrumentality the Opposition into confidence? Why has the request for a peculiar league of Parliament been rejected?”

What sparked the May conflict?

On April 22, a radical of equipped men killed 26 radical – astir each of them tourists – successful Pahalgam, a fashionable tourer destination successful India-administered Kashmir. An equipped radical called The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed work for the attack.

New Delhi insisted that the TRF is an offshoot of different Pakistan-based equipped group, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and has blamed Pakistan for supporting specified groups. Islamabad denied the allegation and called for a neutral enquiry into the attack.

After the Pahalgam attack, the already dwindling narration betwixt the neighbours worsened. Pakistan and India scaled back their diplomatic engagement, suspended their participation successful bilateral treaties and expelled each other’s citizens.