The conflict between Pakistan and India in May 2025 marked an important military escalation between the two nuclear powers. After the attack of the pahalgama on April 22 in Jammu and Kashmir illegally occupied from India, who killed 26 tourists, New Delhi immediately blamed Islamabad without providing any evidence. He also took a series of important diplomatic measures to degrade his ties with Pakistan. Islamabad denied the accusations and offered an impartial investigation into the incident.
On the night of May 7, the Indian Air Force launched an attack not caused against civil objectives in Pakistan. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) immediately retaliates and demolished at least six IAF aircraft, including three raphales built by the French.
On the night of May 9 to 10, India launched another round of strikes against Pakistan, but this time attacked military sites. In retaliation, Pakistan launched the Bunyanum Marsoos operation, which dates back to Indian military facilities, including missile storage sites, air bases and other strategic objectives. On May 10, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced that the fire had been reached after intense diplomatic efforts during the night.
Read: The French intelligence officer confirms Rafale’s fall by Pakistan
Although Indian political leadership has constantly denied losses, a series of comments from senior Indian defense officials in recent weeks suggest that the Indian Air Force (IAF) suffered losses, and potentially more than what was previously recognized. It also shows that political and military leadership is not on the same page and are not lost by how to form a new narrative.
Ak Bharti Air Marshal
The first official clue arrived on May 11, when Ak Bharti Air Marshal, General Director of Air Operations, answered a journalist’s question at a press conference on the Sindoor operation. He said: “The losses are part of the fight … all our pilots are back at home.” Although he did not confirm the number or type of lost plane, he marked the first public admission of any kind with respect to the losses of the IAF.
General Anil Chauhan
On May 31, General Anil Chauhan, head of defense of India, made a more pointed comment during an interview with Bloomberg Television in the Shangri-La dialog in Singapore.
The Army of India first confirmed that he lost an un specified number of combat aircraft in confrontations with Pakistan in May.
Anil Chauhan, Chief of Staff of the Defense of the Armed Forces of India, spoke with Bloomberg TV on Saturday, while attending the Shangri-La dialogue in … pic.twitter.com/9y3GW6WJFN
– Bloomberg TV (@bloombergtv) May 31, 2025
Disienting the reports that six Indian planes had been demolished, he commented: “What is important is not that the plane is down, but why they were going down … That is more important for us. And what we did after that.” General Chauhan also acknowledged that the IAF was “disabled” in his flight operations during the next two days, a significant revelation of the senior military official of India.
Captain (en) Shiv Kumar
A third and particularly candidate admission occurred on June 10 of the Captain (in) Shiv Kumar, the attachment of defense of Indian to Indonesia, while talking in a university seminar entitled “Analysis of the Pakistan air battle -india and the anticipatory strategies of Indonesia from the perspective of aerial power”, housed by Dirgant University Marsekal Suryadarma in Jakarta.
“You may not agree that we lose so many planes, but I agree that we lost some planes … The Indian Air Force lost combat planes against Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025, only for the restriction given by political leadership so as not to attack the military establishment or its aerial defenses,” he said.
Read more: India again admits reaction losses in Pakistan’s clash, citing political limits
Captain Kumar’s statement was remarkable not only to confirm the losses of the IAF, but also to attribute them directly to the political limitations imposed by New Delhi, an implication that contradicts the official statements that the Armed Forces received total operational freedom during the conflict.
Secretary of Defense RK Singh
On July 8, Defense Secretary RK Singh added to the growing list of official awards in an interview with CNBC-TV18. Responding to speculation about the loss of multiple rafale planes, he said: “You have used the term plural, I can assure you that this is not absolutely correct.”
While aiming to deny the scale of losses claimed by Pakistan, Singh’s comment effectively confirmed that at least one rafale may have been demolished, again, without revealing numbers.
Lieutenant General Rahul Singh
The additional confirmation came from the deputy director of the Indian Army, Lieutenant General Rahul Singh, who, two months after the fighting ended, recognized the military defeat of India in the operation.
Also read: Pakistan had real time knowledge of Indian aircraft during the Sindoor operation: security experts
Although his comments included accusations that Pakistan’s success was supported by the foreign support of China and Turkey, regional analysts and security experts have dismissed these statements, stating that Pakistan’s profits were achieved independently.
“Pakistan security forces were fully aware of Indian -time combat aircraft movements … We have been preparing for decades to counteract India,” security experts said, and added that victory was the result of professionalism, strategy and training, not external assistance.
Together, these statements paint an image of cautious admissions by Indian officials, revealing more through what was left without saying what was openly confirmed.
