Lost jets, fixed mistake, hit back hard at Pakistan: CDS Gen Chauhan

Lost jets, fixed mistake, hit back hard at Pakistan: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan refuted Pakistan’s claims that it had shot down six Indian fighter jets during the four-day military confrontation post-Operation Sindoor, adding that India had rectified “tactical errors" quickly and the focus should be on the lessons learned, not the number of aircraft lost.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, General Anil Chauhan dismissed Pakistan’s claim that it downed six Indian jets as “absolutely incorrect," but declined to give specific figures regarding aircraft losses during the conflict that erupted on May 7 — the worst military escalation between India and Pakistan in over 50 years.

CDS Chauhan, who was speaking to Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, did not specify the number of jets India lost.

“Why they were down, what mistakes were made — that are important ... Numbers are not important,” he said.

“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 added.

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“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. 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,” a Bloomberg report quoted the CDS as saying.

He made the comments in response to a question on whether Pakistan downed Indian jets during the May 7-10 military clash in an interview with Bloomberg TV while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. He called Pakistan’s claims of shooting down six Indian fighters “absolutely incorrect.”

Chauhan said India suffered initial losses in the air in an interview with Reuters too.

Gen Chauhan was asked whether India lost combat jets during the four-day military clashes with Pakistan earlier this month.

"So the good part is that we were able to understand the tactical mistakes 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," he said.

"Absolutely incorrect," he said when asked about Pakistan's claim of shooting down six Indian jets during Operation Sindoor.

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"I think what is important is not the jets being downed but why they were being downed," added Gen Chauhan who played a key role in mounting India's massive offensive against Pakistan.

Gen Chauhan, on his part, declined to comment on President Donald Trump's claim that the US brokered the ceasefire to help avert a nuclear war but said it was "far-fetched" to suggest either side was close to using nuclear weapons. Pakistan's chairman of joint chiefs of staff Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza had made the same point a day ago, also on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, but had stressed that a "strategic miscalculation" cannot be ruled out in the future.

Gen Chauhan, however, said "people in uniform" were actually the "most rational" since they understand the consequences. "In every step that happened during Operation Sindoor, I found both sides displaying a lot of rationality in their thoughts as well as actions. So, why should we assume that in the nuclear domain, there will be irrationality on someone else's part," he said.

There is "a lot of space" between the conduct of conventional operations and the nuclear threshold, the CDS said, adding that channels of communication with Pakistan "were always open" to control the situation and there were "more sub-ladders" on the escalation ladder that "can be exploited to settle our issues".

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