India shot down six Pakistani aircraft in May, air force chief says

STORY: :: India’s air force chief says it shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one other military aircraft in May

:: August 9, 2025

:: Bengaluru, India

:: A.P. Singh, Indian Air Chief Marshal

“We have at least five (Pakistani) fighters confirmed killed and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) aircraft or an AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometers. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about.” (FLASH) “Their aircraft tried to penetrate our defences. Our air defence systems have done a wonderful job. The S-400 system, which we had recently bought, has been a game changer. The range of that system has really kept their (Pakistan’s) aircraft away from their weapons like, you know, those long range glide bombs that they have. They have not been able to use any one of those because they have not been able to penetrate this (India’s) system.”

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 186 miles (300 km).