A senior Indian Navy officer has disclosed that Indian fighter jets were lost in the opening phase of Operation Sindoor due to government-imposed constraints forbidding strikes on Pakistani military targets—an approach that was altered later to establish air dominance.
Captain Shiv Kumar, India’s defence attache to Indonesia, made the remarks during a seminar in Jakarta on 10 June, while responding to claims by Indonesian air power analyst Tommy Tamtomo that India lost five fighter aircraft and suffered degradation of two S-400 air defence systems in the confrontation with Pakistan.
“I may not agree with him that India lost so many aircraft. 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,” said Captain Kumar, whose rank is equivalent to an Army colonel.
Air strategy and change of approach
Describing a shift in military tactics after the early air losses, Captain Kumar said, “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 (known as SEAD and DEAD in military parlance) and that’s why all our attacks could easily go through using surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-surface missiles… On May 8, 9 and 10, there was complete air superiority by India.”
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the remarks, but the Indian Embassy in Jakarta issued a statement describing the media coverage as a “mis-representation of the intention and thrust” of Captain Kumar’s presentation.
“The presentation conveyed that the Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood… The objective of Operation Sindoor was to target terrorist infrastructure and the Indian response was non-escalatory,” the embassy stated.
Earlier official admissions
The revelation follows earlier comments by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, who on 31 May in Singapore admitted that Indian fighter aircraft were lost on the first day of the operation, 7 May, due to tactical errors which were “swiftly rectified”.
General Chauhan said that India later executed precision strikes and neutralised terrorist and military infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Also read: Learned from tactical mistakes, says Gen Chauhan
India’s offensive was launched in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack of 22 April, in which 26 civilians were killed. Operation Sindoor commenced in the early hours of 7 May and lasted four days before both countries agreed to cease hostilities.
In his remarks, Captain Kumar clarified that the armed forces were initially directed to focus strictly on terror targets.
“No military installations, no civil installations… Nothing which was not connected to terrorists was to be targeted,” he said at the Jakarta seminar titled Analysis of the Pakistan-India Air Battle and Indonesia’s Anticipatory Strategies from the Perspective of Air Power.
What Jakarta heard
Indonesian defence analyst Tommy Tamtomo, who is vice-chairman of the Indonesia Centre for Air Power Studies, alleged during the same event that India lost three Rafales, a MiG-29, a Sukhoi-30, and a tactical drone during the conflict.
He further claimed Pakistan suffered heavier losses, including six fighter jets, two AWACS aircraft, and a military transport plane.
“India lost a lot, but Pakistan also lost a lot. Maybe more than India,” Tamtomo added.
The comments have prompted a political storm in India, with Congress MP Jairam Ramesh questioning why the government has not convened a special session of Parliament to formally discuss the operation.
“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?” Ramesh asked, adding that a special session must be called to share complete details.
No official casualty figures from Operation Sindoor have been confirmed by the government so far.
However, Air Marshal AK Bharti, Director General of Air Operations, hinted at Indian losses during a press briefing on 11 May, a day after the ceasefire. He said:
“We are in a combat scenario; losses are a part of combat. The question you must ask is if we have achieved our objective of decimating the terrorist camps. The answer is a thumping yes.”
General Chauhan had also remarked earlier this month that Pakistan’s response operation, Bunyan-um-Marsoos, “folded in eight hours” despite Islamabad’s intention to prolong the standoff.
“Losses suffered in a military conflict are not as important as the targeted outcome of an operation,” he said.
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