India downed 6 Pakistani aircraft in May clash, air force chief says

India shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one other military aircraft during clashes in May, India’s air force chief said on Saturday, in the first such public claim by the country after its worst military conflict in decades with its neighbour.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif rejected the statement, saying India had not hit or destroyed a single Pakistani aircraft.

At an event in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, Indian Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh said most of the Pakistani aircraft were downed by India’s Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system. He cited electronic tracking data as confirmation of the strikes.

“We have at least five fighters confirmed killed, and one large aircraft,” he said, adding that the large aircraft, which could be a surveillance plane, was shot down at a distance of 300km (186 miles).

“This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill,” he said, prompting applause from the crowd that included serving air force officers, veterans and government and industry officials. Singh did not mention the type of fighter jets that were downed, but said that air strikes also hit an additional surveillance plane and “a few F-16” fighters that were parked in hangars at two airbases in southeastern Pakistan.

In a post on social media, Pakistan’s defence minister accused India of dishonesty.