NEW DELHI — India’s Air Force chief on Saturday publicly claimed that Indian forces shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one additional military aircraft during clashes with Pakistan in May, marking the “largest-ever recorded surface-to-air kill” by Indian missile systems.
Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, speaking at a defense event in Bengaluru, said most of the Pakistani aircraft were downed by India’s Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system, citing electronic tracking data as confirmation. “We have at least five fighters confirmed killed, and one large aircraft,” Singh stated, adding that the additional aircraft, believed to be a surveillance plane, was destroyed at a distance of 300 kilometers. The announcement drew applause from military officers and officials in attendance.
Singh did not specify the models of the fighter jets but reported that airstrikes also hit another surveillance plane and “a few F-16” fighters parked in hangars at two Pakistani bases in southeastern Pakistan.
Pakistan immediately rejected the Indian account. Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif dismissed the statement as “dishonest,” urging both nations to open their aircraft inventories for independent verification. “Such comical narratives, crafted for domestic political expediency, increase the grave risks of strategic miscalculation in a nuclearised environment,” Asif wrote in a post on social media. Islamabad, whose air force flies Chinese-made jets and US F-16s, has consistently denied any combat losses to India during the May 7–10 clashes.
In the aftermath of the border conflict, Pakistan claimed it shot down six Indian aircraft, including French-made Rafale fighters, allegations which India has partially acknowledged but denied losing all six. France’s air chief, General Jerome Bellanger, has confirmed evidence of the loss of three Indian fighters, including a Rafale, though the Indian Air Force has yet to comment officially.
US officials stated earlier that there has been no evidence of Pakistani F-16s being lost, and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The May conflict marked the worst military exchange in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbors, featuring cross-border attacks involving drones, missiles, and fighter jets. India’s open confirmation of its air combat successes underscores the operational role of its S-400 systems and highlights persistent tensions between Delhi and Islamabad.