{"id":58507,"date":"2025-06-29T16:52:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T16:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/defence-attache-terms-it-an-operational-setback\/"},"modified":"2025-06-29T16:52:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T16:52:00","slug":"defence-attache-terms-it-an-operational-setback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=58507","title":{"rendered":"Defence Attach\u00e9 Terms it an Operational Setback"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In an unprecedented revelation that has shaken India\u2019s defence establishment and strategic community, Captain Shiv Kumar, the Indian Navy\u2019s Defence Attach\u00e9 to Indonesia, has openly acknowledged that the Indian Air Force (IAF) lost multiple fighter aircraft in a high-risk operation against Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025. The candid admission, delivered during a closed-door seminar in Jakarta on June 10, confirmed what many analysts had long suspected but the Indian government had declined to publicly acknowledge.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Speaking at a regional defence seminar titled \u201cAnalysis of the Pakistan\u2013India Air Battle and Indonesia\u2019s Anticipatory Strategies from the Perspective of Air Power\u201d hosted by Universitas Dirgantara Marsekal Suryadarma, Captain Kumar said, \u201cI may not agree that we lost so many aircraft, but I do agree we did lose some aircraft.\u201d His carefully worded concession, while stopping short of validating Pakistan\u2019s full claims, lent legitimacy to widespread reports of Indian air losses.<\/p>\n
More startling was the material presented alongside Kumar\u2019s 35-minute address. Presentation slides displayed during the seminar reportedly confirmed the loss of three Rafale fighters, one Su-30MKI, and one MiG-29\u2014a devastating blow for any modern air force, let alone one which touts technological superiority over its rivals.<\/p>\n
The losses occurred during an Indian retaliatory strike targeting terror-linked infrastructure inside Pakistan. The mission, executed under intense political oversight and strategic calculation, was in response to rising intelligence inputs on cross-border militant networks and their potential threat to Indian national security.<\/p>\n
According to Captain Kumar, the losses were not due to platform failure or pilot error. Instead, they stemmed from operational constraints imposed by India\u2019s civilian leadership. \u201cThe Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025 only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defenses,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
This admission has triggered an intense debate in Indian policy circles about the cost of strategic restraint. With a history of carefully calibrated military responses to provocations from Pakistan, New Delhi had once again opted for a limited action doctrine, instructing the IAF to avoid hitting Pakistani military assets in order to prevent escalation, especially given the nuclear backdrop of the India-Pakistan rivalry.<\/p>\n
However, this directive may have inadvertently left Indian fighters exposed. As they penetrated Pakistani airspace and released precision-guided munitions on suspected militant camps, they became vulnerable targets for Pakistan\u2019s radar-guided interceptors and surface-to-air missile batteries\u2014elements that were left untouched due to India\u2019s restrictive rules of engagement.<\/p>\n
Pakistani military sources suggest that their Air Force (PAF), already on high alert, swiftly transitioned from a defensive to offensive posture. Once Indian jets were detected violating airspace and launching munitions, the PAF\u2019s Deputy Chief reportedly issued a full \u201cdestroy\u201d command\u2014a shift from mere deterrence to active engagement.<\/p>\n
By the time the Indian strike packages began exfiltration, Pakistani JF-17s and F-16s had already scrambled, supported by a web of air defence systems and early warning radars. Although Islamabad has claimed to have downed six Indian jets, including Rafales, Indian officials have publicly denied this figure, citing national morale and ongoing intelligence reviews.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Captain Kumar\u2019s verified account from Indonesian soil has confirmed that losses did occur\u2014bringing into sharp relief the tension between political caution and military efficacy.<\/p>\n
Military analysts quickly pointed out the glaring strategic oversight: no Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) mission preceded the Indian strike. In modern aerial warfare, SEAD is fundamental to any deep-penetration air campaign. It ensures a safe corridor by disabling or destroying enemy radar, surface-to-air missile sites, and command centers.<\/p>\n
By choosing not to neutralize Pakistan\u2019s Integrated Air Defence Network (IADN), India effectively ceded the upper hand. Pakistani fighters and ground defences were able to coordinate and strike back with devastating precision. \u201cSending Rafales into contested airspace without clearing the area of threats is like playing chess without your queen,\u201d remarked Air Commodore (Retd.) Vivek Choudhury, a former IAF strategist.<\/p>\n
Recognizing the cost of their cautious approach, Indian defence planners moved quickly. Within 72 hours, the IAF was authorized to revise its rules of engagement. According to Captain Kumar, the new operational doctrine allowed for direct targeting of Pakistani military installations.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we first achieved suppression of enemy air defences, and then that\u2019s why all our attacks could easily go through using BrahMos missiles,\u201d he said. The emphasis on BrahMos\u2014India\u2019s supersonic cruise missile developed jointly with Russia\u2014marked a transition to standoff precision warfare. Deployed from air, land, or sea platforms, BrahMos missiles allowed Indian forces toengage targets deep inside Pakistani territory without venturing into contested airspace.<\/p>\nOperation Sindoor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Flying at nearly Mach 3 and capable of ranges exceeding 400km, BrahMos has emerged as a lynchpin in India\u2019s long-range strike strategy. On May 10, just days after the initial losses, BrahMos missiles were used extensively against Pakistani airbases and logistics hubs in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions.<\/p>\n
However, this new approach came at a heavy cost. Each BrahMos missile is estimated to cost USD 3 million (approximately \u20b925 crore). As many as 12 were believed to have been fired in two waves, making it one of India\u2019s most expensive single-day aerial engagements in recent history.<\/p>\n
Yet for Indian strategists, this expensive lesson underscored a broader point: Air superiority cannot be achieved under peacetime constraints. In conflicts involving high-speed jets, radar lock-ons, and layered defence systems, hesitation is fatal.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s May 7 engagement with Pakistan comes at a geopolitically sensitive moment. China has intensified its military-technological support to Pakistan, most notably through the JF-17 Thunder program and ongoing discussions to supply J-31\/J-35 stealth fighters.<\/p>\n
Indian analysts warn that any tactical or operational insights gained by the PAF from May\u2019s confrontation could find their way into Chinese war games along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Himalayas. The fear is not unfounded. China has increasingly adopted joint doctrine principles, and Pakistan serves as a valuable proving ground for new concepts.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), meanwhile, has accelerated efforts to deploy next-generation air combat systems, including the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) stealth fighter and expanded Tejas Mk1A squadrons. But experts caution that no amount of technological overmatch can substitute for clear political-military alignment in crisis scenarios.<\/p>\nOperation Sindoor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The seminar in Jakarta wasn\u2019t just a footnote to an Indo-Pak conflict; it was a strategic mirror for the entire Indo-Pacific. For the Tentara Nasional Indonesia\u2013Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU) and other Southeast Asian air forces, the episode offers a sobering case study in modern airpower employment.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, like many ASEAN states, must navigate the complex matrix of internal political oversight, budgetary limitations, and external threats\u2014particularly in the context of an increasingly assertive China in the South China Sea. Captain Kumar\u2019s presentation triggered a flurry of questions from Indonesian air planners on how to conduct deterrence operations without inadvertently inviting escalation.<\/p>\n
Regional analysts from Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines\u2014some of whom attended remotely\u2014reportedly echoed the need for air doctrine that balances deterrence with political flexibility.<\/p>\n
Back in India, the fallout has been intense. Media outlets, while constrained by official secrecy, have begun asking pointed questions. Opposition parties have demanded accountability, accusing the government of \u201cneedless opacity\u201d and endangering national security through indecisive leadership.<\/p>\n
Former Air Vice Marshal Kapil Verma wrote in a widely shared op-ed, \u201cWe cannot continue to fight modern wars with Cold War-era doctrines. The time for ambiguity is over. Our military must be allowed to act, not asked to calculate political optics mid-flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The episode has also sparked renewed discussion on establishing a National Security Council Command Authority (NSCCA) with clearly defined wartime roles for civilian and military leadership, akin to the U.S. model.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the May 7 air engagement will be remembered not just for its tactical outcomes, but for its strategic implications. It exposed the fragility of air dominance when constrained by political caution. It laid bare the risks of engaging in punitive strikes without first achieving SEAD. And it highlighted how even elite platforms like Rafales are vulnerable in the absence of doctrinal clarity and unrestricted execution.<\/p>\n
Captain Shiv Kumar\u2019s honesty\u2014delivered thousands of kilometres away in Indonesia\u2014may mark a quiet turning point in how India handles the intersection of politics and airpower. In an age of fifth-generation warfare and integrated kill chains, decisiveness is the new deterrent.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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