Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan, for the first time, reacted to a query on whether India had lost aircraft during the recent Operation Sindoor with Pakistan.

He categorically refuted Pakistan's assertion that it had shot down Indian aircraft and described the claims as "absolutely incorrect." However, he acknowledged that the key issue was not whether an aircraft was downed, but why it happened and what mistakes led to it. He made this comment in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Saturday during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

He added, "Numbers are not important."

Chauhan clarified that India understood the tactical mistake it had made. They fixed the error, corrected the situation, and flew all their jets again just two days later. He said the jets returned to the skies and carried out long-range targeting.

On Wednesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated claims that the Pakistan Air Force had downed six Indian fighter jets, including four Rafale fighters, during the brief India-Pakistan clash.

The Indian Army rejected these claims made by both Pakistan and some Western media outlets. On May 11, 2025, Air Marshal A.K. Bharti stated that "losses are a part of combat" but stressed that all Indian Air Force pilots had returned home safely. He further stated that the IAF had shot down several Pakistani jets during the operation, including an F-16 and two JF-17s. Pakistan has not confirmed this claim.

When asked whether India and Pakistan were on the brink of nuclear war, Chauhan declined to comment on President Donald Trump's claim that the U.S. had prevented both countries from reaching that point. He called the suggestion "far-fetched" and said it was inaccurate to imply that either side was close to using nuclear weapons.

Chauhan said he personally felt that there was a lot of space between conventional operations and crossing the nuclear threshold. He said India kept channels of communication with Pakistan "always open" to manage the situation. He also indicated that there were "more sub-ladders which can be exploited" to resolve issues without resorting to nuclear weapons.

He stated that the Indian military conducted precision strikes on Pakistani airfields located 300 kilometers deep inside enemy territory. He said they carried out the strikes with meter-level accuracy, despite the airfields being heavily air-defended.

Chauhan said that India had laid down clear red lines. He added that India’s future response would depend on Pakistan’s actions.