India Admits to Fighter Losses in Clashes with Pakistan: How Will It Respond?

<p >An Indian military source has for the first time confirmed the country’s loss of fighter aircraft during clashes with Pakistan in early May, during which an estimated one to four Rafale fighters, a MiG-29, and possibly a Su-30MKI and a Mirage 2000, were lost in combat. “The number isn’t important, but the reason they were downed is,” Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan stated. “The good part is we understood the tactical mistake, remedied it, rectified it, and flew all our jets again after two days, targeting at long range,” he added. The loss of Rafale fighters in particular has caused a significant <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/indian-air-force-faces-pr-crisis-240-million-rafale-destroyed" >public relations crisis</a> for the Indian Defence Ministry, with the French fighters having been procured at over $241 million each, <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/signs-of-backdoor-dealing-indian-opposition-slams-modi-government-for-secrecy-of-rafale-acquisition-deal-despite-enormous-costs" >fuelling allegations of corruption</a> in the procurement process and sparking considerable controversy.  Indian defence sources previously deflected from criticism by specifically arguing that the Rafale would provide tremendous superiority over the Pakistan Air Force, and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/former-indian-air-chef-dhanoa-claims-s-400s-and-rafales-will-facilitate-attacks-on-pakistani-aircraft-inside-their-own-airspace" >facilitate</a> the shooting down of Pakistani fighters deep into the country’s own airspace.</p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/05/31/article_683b92c43ad8c4_25836032.jpeg" title="Chinese People`s Liberation Army Air Force J-10C"></p><p >The fact that the Rafales were <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/pakistani-j10c-shot-down-indian-rafale" target="_blank">overcome</a> in air-to-air engagements by Pakistan Air Force J-10C fighters, which are the least capable of five fighter classes currently being produced for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, confirmed the long expected inability of European aircraft to match their Chinese counterparts, and is expected to fuel Indian interest both in developing more capable indigenous fighters and in procuring more advanced fighters from Russia. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 13 <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/modi-elaborates-s400-importance-india-defence" >singled out</a> the performance of the country’s Russian-supplied <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/india-ten-s400-battalions-2025" target="_blank">S-400 long range air defence systems</a> for praise for their performance, which was seen to be a means of deflecting from the Rafale’s perceived failure while reassuring the public of the security of Indian airspace. In response to the clashes, India has been assessed as likely to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/indian-pakistani-clashes-win-su57" target="_blank">expedite plans </a>to procure Russian Su-57 fifth generation fighters, while also concentrating investment on its AMCA fifth generation fighter program intended to produce aircraft for the 2040s. It was <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/india-considering-plans-su57-license-production" >confirmed</a> in February that a license production deal for the Su-57 was under consideration.</p>