'The Good Part Is...': CDS Chauhan Hints At Jet Loss In Op Sindoor, Says India Came Back Stronger

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Last Updated:May 31, 2025, 13:39 IST

General Anil Chauhan dismissed Pakistan’s claim that it downed six Indian jets as “absolutely incorrect."

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, for the first time, hinted at India losing fighter jets in the four-day military confrontation with Pakistan earlier this month as he stressed that the focus should be on the tactical 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.

“What is important is not the jet being down, but why they were down. What mistakes were made — that is important. Numbers are not," he said.

General Anil Chauhan said India had identified and corrected its tactical errors within two days and resumed long-range operations with precision targeting.

“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," General Chauhan said.

General Anil Chauhan Slams Shehbaz Sharif’s Claims On Indian Jets

General Anil Chauhan also pushed back against Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s assertion that his country had shot down six Indian jets. He criticized the performance of Pakistan’s imported weapon systems, including Chinese-supplied air defenses, saying they “didn’t work."

He added that India had successfully executed precision strikes deep inside Pakistani territory- up to 300 kilometers- on airfields protected by dense air defenses.

On concerns of nuclear escalation, General Anil Chauhan dismissed suggestions that the conflict came close to triggering a nuclear war. He said, “I personally feel that there is a lot of space between the conduct of conventional operations and the nuclear threshold." Communication channels with Pakistan, he added, remained open throughout the crisis.

The CDS concluded that the current ceasefire is holding, but its durability depends on future Pakistani actions.

“We have laid clear red lines," he warned.