The Indian Air Force has said that “losses are a part of combat” without giving details, but claimed that all its pilots were back home after fighting with Pakistan this week, responding to a question on whether the force suffered losses.
On Wednesday, May 7, a Pakistani Chengdu J-10C fighter jet shot down at least two Indian military aircraft.
A Pakistani military spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday that five Indian aircraft had been shot down, but India did not confirm the claim.
Also on Wednesday, four government sources in Indian-administrated Kashmir told Reuters that three fighter jets crashed in the federal territory, hours after India claimed it struck nine Pakistani “terrorist infrastructure” sites across the border.
A ceasefire appeared to hold on Sunday between India and Pakistan, hours after the nuclear-armed rivals accused each other of violating a truce that brought them back from the brink of all-out war.
The ceasefire was agreed on Saturday after four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks which killed at least 60 people and sent thousands fleeing, in the worst violence since India and Pakistan’s last open conflict in 1999.
US President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced the “full and immediate” halt to hostilities on social media, saying that it followed a “long night of talks mediated by the United States.”
India-Pakistan Aircraft Losses
Indian Air Force lost nine of its aircraft, including three French-made Rafale, one Jaguar, two Mig-29, and Su-30mki to Pakistani AMRAAM fired from F-16. India also lost multiple drones during an air raid in Pakistan. Two of India’s Rafales crashed after returning from combat sorties.
India also shot down Pakistani F-16 and JF-17 Block 3 fighter jets using Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles. Chinese J-10C fighter jet also scored its first kill, shooting down an Indian Jaguar fighter jet. Pakistan also shot down its own Mirage fighter using an HQ-16 missile, which has no identification, friend-or-foe, or datalink capability.
From Day four of the conflict, India stopped using Su-30mki and Mig-29 fighter jets. For the first three days, the Indian Air Force failed to achieve air superiority with high-tech Rafale jets. Now, the IAF is back in action. French intelligence and military experts could assist the IAF with mission planning and expert advice.
The India-Pakistan war is not a comparison of Western and Eastern fighter jets; the Air Force, which has excellent mission planning, better-trained pilots, better early warning, missiles and intelligence, will win the air combat.
Backed by Saab 2000 AEWC, F-16 fired the AMRAAM missiles while Pakistani Air Force fighters were in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, which surprised the Indian Air Force as the PAF overtook the Indian control area. The only way Pakistan could engage Indian aircraft is if it received early warning from Swedish AEWC integrated with American F-16 fighter jets.
Photos from the scene show a Russian-made Zvezda K-36DM ejection seat, a system used in India’s Mig-29 and Su-30mki aircraft. Additionally, remnants of an RD-33 engine standard on the Mig-29 were identified, confirming the aircraft type involved.
This is the most significant loss of Indian aircraft since the independence of two nuclear-armed neighbours from the British colony. Pakistan also lost its JF-17 Block 3 fighter jet, touted as Pakistan’s best.
Indian Rafale bombed three of Pakistan’s high-value airbases and a logistics hub near the capital, Islamabad. India also captured the most advanced Chinese PL-15E missile that could compromise Chinese defence industries and its military.
Initially, neither side was prepared to send their pilots over the border because of a much smaller dogfight in 2019. An Indian Air Force pilot was shot down on Pakistani territory and paraded on TV before being returned to India.
© 2025, GDC. © GDC and www.globaldefensecorp.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.globaldefensecorp.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
