In a provocative statement, US President Donald Trump has claimed that five jets were shot down during the recent military confrontation between India and Pakistan, triggered by the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking at a private dinner with Republican lawmakers at the White House, Trump said, “Planes were being shot out of the air. Five, five—four or five—but I think five jets were shot down actually.” The US President did not clarify whether the downed aircraft belonged to India or Pakistan.
Trump’s remarks reignited global attention on Operation Sindoor, the intense Indian military retaliation launched on May 7 following the Pahalgam terror strike that left 26 people, including tourists, dead. The operation involved coordinated air and missile strikes over a 72-hour period, targeting what India described as terrorist infrastructure and military assets deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan has since claimed that its air force downed six Indian jets—including three Rafales—and captured pilots, but has failed to provide concrete evidence. India, for its part, has categorically denied these assertions. Indian authorities maintain that all pilots returned safely and no Rafale jets were lost.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in May, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan acknowledged aircraft losses without detailing numbers. “What is important is not the jets being downed, but why they were. Numbers are not important,” he stated. He emphasized India’s rapid tactical adaptation and highlighted its success in conducting precision strikes on heavily defended Pakistani air bases up to 300 kilometers deep, with “metre-level” accuracy.
Dassault Aviation CEO Éric Trappier also rebutted Islamabad’s claims. In an interview with French magazine Challenges, Trappier called Pakistan’s assertions of downing Rafales “factually incorrect” and “inaccurate.”
Trump went on to claim that the ceasefire, declared on May 10, was brokered through US diplomatic efforts. He asserted that Washington used the prospect of halting trade negotiations to pressure both nuclear-armed nations into a truce. “We said, ‘You guys want to make a trade deal—we’re not making a deal if you’re throwing around weapons,’” Trump told the gathering.
However, New Delhi has firmly rejected this version of events. Indian officials have consistently maintained that the crisis was resolved bilaterally with no foreign mediation.
India continues to avoid releasing detailed figures of its losses, a position that analysts believe reflects strategic restraint amid conflicting narratives and escalating misinformation.
While the dust may have settled on the battlefield, President Trump’s latest remarks ensure that Operation Sindoor—and the narratives surrounding it—remain far from over.
