07-05-2025
The Indian Aircraft Pakistan Says It Shot Down
Indian aircraft went down after the country launched attacks against Pakistan this week, in what it said was retaliation for a terrorist attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed scores of people and caused tensions between the two nations to boil over.
The exact number and variety of lost aircraft is not yet clear.
Two or three Indian aircraft went down inside India's border, according to Indian officials, Western diplomats and local media reports. Pakistan, for its part, claims it shot down five planes and at least one drone: three Rafale fighter jets, one MIG-29 fighter aircraft, one Su-30 fighter jet and one Heron drone.
The New York Times was unable to independently verify these claims.
John E. Pike, director of a nonprofit research group based in Alexandria, Va., said those five aircraft and the drone could have been downed by surface-to-air or air-to-air missiles. 'Pakistan has both,' he said.
Here is what to know about the aircraft Pakistan's military says it shot down.
Rafale
The Rafale is a twin-engine fighter jet that can take off from an aircraft carrier or a base onshore, according to its French manufacturer, Dassault Aviation.
