India’s announcement of its aerial victories came nearly three months after the brief border dispute with Pakistan.
It is common to see both India and Pakistan each claim victory after one of their periodic border clashes, such as the recent four-day war in May. Information warfare is another reminder that in wartime, the first casualty is the truth. Both sides have downplayed their respective losses while inflating the casualties that the other endured.
Even as New Delhi has grudgingly acknowledged that one of its advanced French-made Dassault Rafale fighters was shot down in the May conflict, the Indian Air Force is now claiming that it shot down a whopping six Pakistani aircraft, including five jet fighters. It reported that among those fighters was likely an American-made F-16 Fighting Falcon, although that has not been independently verified.
India Claims “At Least Five” Pakistani Aircraft Shot Down
The IAF’s announcement of its aerial victories came nearly three months following the engagement—and only after admitting it had lost at least three of its own fighters. There are speculations that India is attempting to save face, given the unexpected downing of the Rafale by a Chinese-made PL-10 air-to-air missile fired by a Chengdu J-10C Vigorous Dragon (NATO reporting name “Firebird”). At the time, the air clashes were widely cited as a major Pakistani victory, and a setback for India’s numerically superior air force. Today, it appears India is attempting to change this perception.
“We have at least five fighters confirmed killed and one large aircraft,” Indian Air Chief Marshal Staff Amar Preet Singh said during a military lecture on Saturday. Singh added that the larger aircraft was possibly a surveillance plane, stating that it was shot down at a distance of more than 300 km (186 miles).
“This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about. Our air defence systems have done a wonderful job,” Singh stated.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif disputed Singh’s claims, maintaining that no Pakistani aircraft were lost.
“If the truth is in question, let both sides open their aircraft inventories to independent verification—though we suspect this would lay bare the reality India seeks to obscure,” Asif suggested.
India Touts the Capabilities of the S-400 Air Defense System
India’s claim is notable not just for the number of Pakistani aircraft it cited, but also for the air defense system that India is claiming it employed. According to Singh, the Russian-made S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system was used to shoot down “most” of the adversarial planes. Among those may have been at least one F-16, but Singh also indicated that “a few” were targeted on the ground.
US officials are reportedly unaware that any Fighting Falcons were among the warbirds to have been lost in the brief flare-up.
The loss of any aircraft is a severe blow in modern warfare, but there may be more to the story as well. As Christian D. Orr explained for The National Interest in May, “an agreement with the United States means the Pakistan Air Force can only use its F-16s for counterterrorism missions.” These restrictions are part of the End-Use Monitoring (EUM) program, which is intended to ensure that the aircraft are not deployed for offensive operations against another nation—in this case India.
That does not mean that F-16s were not targeted on the ground, and perhaps even destroyed. Moreover, the EUM gives Islamabad some wiggle room to operate the aircraft in its own airspace in a defense role. This was largely the case during the May border conflict, when both sides’ aircraft primarily stuck to their own side of the border and fired across it.
However, the fact that the destruction of the aircraft was not announced until the US imposed new tariffs on India speaks volumes. India has publicly rejected the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. It may now be trying to take a cue from its other regional rival, China, which launched a PR campaign questioning the capabilities of the Rafale. Singh may be attempting a similar misinformation/disinformation effort, this time directed at the US-made F-16 Fighting Falcon.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock / rehan waheed.
