Operation Sindoor: CDS Anil Chauhan says India suffered initial losses in the air, declines to give details

India adapted tactics, gained advantage in conflict with Pakistan, leading to ceasefire; no nuclear threat perceived, rationality displayed.

India switched tactics after suffering losses in the air on the first day of conflict with Pakistan earlier this month and established a decisive advantage before the neighbours announced a ceasefire three days later, Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan said on Saturday (May 31, 2025).

The heaviest fighting in decades between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan was sparked by an April 22 attack in Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. India blamed the incident on "terrorists" backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad.

On May 7, Indian jets bombed what New Delhi called "terrorist infrastructure" sites across the border. Pakistan has said it downed six Indian planes, including at least three Rafale fighters, in the initial clashes.

The ceasefire was announced on May 10 after bitter fighting in which both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery.

General Anil Chauhan said in an interview that India suffered initial losses in the air, but declined to give details.

"What was important is, why did these losses occur, and what we'll do after that," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, referring to the Pakistani claim of downing jets.

"So we rectified tactics and then went back on the 7th, 8th and 10th in large numbers to hit air bases deep inside Pakistan, penetrated all their air defences with impunity, carried out precision strikes."