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‘Rafales, in the plural…absolutely not correct': India's defence secretary dismisses Pakistan claim
Rafale fighter jet is seen parked on the tarmac during its induction ceremony at an air force station in Ambala, India, September 10, 2020. File Image/Reuters
Indian Defence Secretary RK Singh said on Monday that Pakistan's claim of shooting down multiple Rafale fighter planes is incorrect.
In the four-day India-Pakistan conflict in May, Pakistan has claimed to have shot down five Indian fighter planes, including three Rafales.
While refusing to go into the specifics, Singh told CNBC-TV18, 'You have used the term Rafales in the plural, I can assure you that is absolutely not correct. Pakistan suffered losses many times over India in both human and material terms and more than 100 terrorists.'
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Singh's remarks appear to confirm a previous statement by Eric Trappier, the CEO of Rafale-manufacturer Dassault Aviation, that India lost one Rafale fighter plane — Singh said that Indian loss of Rafales was not 'plural' (more than one).
In remarks published in French outlet Avion De Chasse on June 25, Trappier said that India lost one Rafale aircraft 'at an altitude of over 12,000 metres during an extended training mission with no enemy involvement or hostile radar contact'.
What all India has said about losses in Operation Sindoor
Singh further said that no political constraints were imposed on the armed forces during the conflict with Pakistan on May 7-10.
'No political constraints on our armed forces and they have full operational freedom in conflict,' said Singh.
The remarks were an apparent reaction to a statement by Captain Shiv Kumar, India's Defence Attache to Indonesia, last month at a seminar that said India lost fighter planes because of the rules of engagement set by the political leadership in the beginning of the conflict.
'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 Kumar.
In the first round of strikes under Operation Sindoor on the night of May 6-7, India struck only terrorist facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK). India began striking Pakistani military facilities only after Pakistani military attacked India after Indian airstrikes on terrorist sites.
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While India has confirmed that it lost fighter planes formally, it has not confirmed the numbers and has consistently downplayed the numbers presented by Pakistan. Last month, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said that Pakistan's claim of shooting down six Indian fighter planes was 'absolutely incorrect'.
Singh told Bloomberg that the numbers were not important but the fact that India figured out and corrected its mistake to achieve superiority was important.
'The good part is that we are able to understand the tactical mistake which we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and flew all our jets again, targeting at long range,' said Chauhan.
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