Indian Jets Lost in Op Sindoor Due to Restrictions on Hitting Pak Military Targets: Navy Officer
India lost fighter jets during the initial phase of ‘Operation Sindoor’ against Pakistan because the political leadership had strictly forbidden strikes on military installations, ordering pilots to only target terror infrastructure, a senior Indian Navy officer has stated at a seminar in Jakarta. The comments have ignited a political firestorm in India, with the opposition Congress demanding answers from the government.
Captain Shiv Kumar, India’s defence attache to Indonesia, made the hitherto unreported remarks on June 10, acknowledging aircraft losses. He said the tactical approach was changed only after these initial losses, which then allowed the Indian armed forces to achieve “complete air superiority” over Pakistan in the subsequent days of the brief but intense conflict in May.
“I may not agree with him that India lost so many aircraft,” Captain Kumar said, responding to an Indonesian expert’s claim of five IAF jets being downed. “But I do agree that we did lose some aircraft and that happened only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishments and their air defences.”
The Indian embassy in Jakarta has since issued a statement claiming Captain Kumar was quoted “out of context” and that his presentation’s intent was to highlight that the armed forces operate under civilian leadership and that the operation was “non-escalatory.” The Ministry of Defence in New Delhi declined to comment.
Captain Kumar explained that after the initial setbacks, India’s strategy was revised. “After the loss, we changed our tactics and went for their military installations. We first achieved suppression of enemy air defences and destruction of enemy air defences… and that’s why all our attacks could easily go through,” he said, adding that India held “complete air superiority” from May 8 to 10.
This is the second instance of a senior military official acknowledging combat losses. On May 31, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan had admitted in Singapore that India lost jets due to “tactical mistakes” which were quickly rectified. The government, however, has not made an official statement detailing any losses.
The revelations have prompted sharp criticism from the Congress party. “First the Chief of Defence Staff makes important revelations in Singapore. Then a senior defence official follows up from Indonesia. But why is the PM refusing to preside over an all-party meeting and take the Opposition into confidence? Why has the demand for a special session of Parliament been rejected?” questioned Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh.
The discussion took place at a seminar titled ‘Analysis of the Pakistan-India Air Battle and Indonesia’s Anticipatory Strategies’. During the event, Indonesian aerospace expert Tommy Tamtomo claimed India lost three Rafales, a MiG-29, a Sukhoi-30, and a drone, while Pakistan’s losses included six fighter jets and two AWACS aircraft.
‘Operation Sindoor’ was India’s military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 civilians were killed. The four-day confrontation from May 7 to May 10 involved intense exchanges of fire using fighter jets, missiles, and artillery before a ceasefire was established.
