New Delhi, May 31: Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan has admitted for the first time in an interview that India’s fighter jets fell during Operation ‘Sindoor’. Although he has not disclosed the number, he said that it is not important that the jets fell, it is more important why they fell.
He also said that the planes flew again after two days and attacked targets like Jacobabad, Noor Khan Airbase and Murid 300 km inside Pakistan without any loss.
Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan is currently in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue. He held talks with India’s High Commissioner to Singapore Dr Shilpak Ambule and Indian officials on deputation.
CDS was given detailed information about bilateral relations between India and Singapore and the countries participating in the upcoming talks. He is exchanging views on areas of common interests with defence ministers, military chiefs, policymakers and strategic experts from across the world.
During his talks, the CDS has apprised the world of India’s view on the Pahalgam attack and subsequent Operation Sindoor.
CDS General Chauhan held bilateral talks with Deputy Secretary-General for Security and Defence Charles Fries, Chief of the French Navy Admiral Nicolas Vaujour, Chief of Defence Force of Australia Admiral David Johnston, Chief of Defence Staff of the United Kingdom Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of Defence Force of New Zealand Air Marshal Tony Davis, Chief of Staff of Japan General Yoshida Yoshihide, Commander of US INDOPACOM Admiral Samuel J Paparo, Chief of Staff of the Brazilian Armed Forces
Admiral Aguiar Freire, Chief of Defence Force of the Netherlands General Onno Eichelsheim on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in the European Union and discussed military exchange programmes and ways to enhance defence cooperation between the two countries. The discussion also focused on Operation Sindoor, which underlined India’s growing strategic partnerships to ensure peace and stability in the region.
Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan spoke to a TV channel on Saturday while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. He spoke about the Pahalgam attack and the subsequent Operation Sindoor in the interview.
He said that India suffered initial losses in the air on the first day of the conflict, but refused to give details. He said that the important thing is why these losses occurred and what we did after that.
He said that after suffering air losses on the first day, we changed the strategy and gained a decisive lead before declaring a ceasefire three days later.
He said that we improved our strategy and attacked targets like Jacobabad Noorkhan Airbase and Murid 300 km inside Pakistan on May 7, 8 and 10 without any loss. We carried out precise attacks penetrating all their air defenses without any hindrance.
He described Pakistan’s claim that it had shot down six Indian warplanes as “absolutely false”. However, he refused to say how many aircraft India lost.