Pak again claims it downed Indian jets during May conflict

Pakistan's Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sindhu on Tuesday claimed without proof that his forces shot down “modern” Indian jets and defence system during the conflict with India in May.

The fresh claims came after Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said in October that at least a dozen Pakistani military aircraft, including US-origin F-16 jets and Chinese-origin JF-17s, were destroyed or damaged in Indian strikes during Operation Sindoor.

Addressing the passing out parade at Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Academy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindhu claimed Pakistani forces "shot down" India's "most modern and capable aircraft — including multiple Rafales, Su-30MKIs, Mirage 2000s, MiG-29s and unmanned aerial systems". He did not provide any proof for the claim.

Sindhu also called the May conflict a “fierce aerial engagement”.

He additionally claimed that Pakistani forces also struck Indian "bases and ground assets" from "north to south", and neutralised "the state-of-the-art S-400 air defence system and command-and-control centres".

Pakistan has claimed to have shot down Indian aircraft multiple times following the May hostilities, none of which was supported by proof.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.

The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.