Lost fighter jets due to political ‘constraints’, says defence attaché

In a twist to India-Pakistan skirmish, India’s defence attaché to Indonesia, Captain Shiv Kumar, said Indian Air Force (IAF) lost some of its jets on Day 1 (May 7) of Operation Sindoor due to the “constraints” the political leadership had laid down on “not attacking” Pakistan’s military establishments or air defence system.

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Speaking at a seminar, “Analysis of the Pakistan–India Air Battle and Indonesia’s Anticipatory Strategies from the Perspective of Air Power”, Kumar said, “I may not agree (with an earlier Indonesian speaker’s claim) that we lost so many aircraft, but I do agree we did lose some aircraft.” “That happened only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defences,” the Indian defence attache said.

Indian Embassy in Indonesia said the thrust of the presentation made by the speaker was to convey that the “Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood”. It said objective of Operation Sindoor was to target terror infrastructure and the Indian response was non-escalatory.

The seminar was hosted by an educational institute in Indonesia, the Universitas Dirgantara Marsekal Suryadarma. The Indian officer made a 35-minute presentation at the seminar that was held on June 10. The entire 5-hour seminar has been posted on YouTube.

Last month, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan confirmed that India did face “losses” in the air duel with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. However, he said there was a swift change in tactics that led the IAF to inflict a decisive retaliation on the airbases of the western neighbour.

Meanwhile, the Congress accused the Centre of “misleading” the country.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera on X said, “In another shocking revelation by Capt Shiv Kumar, it has emerged that the IAF lost jets during its targeting of Pakistan’s terror-linked sites ‘only because of the constraint given by the political leadership’.”

The BJP said it was beyond sane minds why the Congress can’t wrap its brain around. India’s response was swift, calibrated and lethal, the party said.