No Rafale jets lost: Defence Secretary says Pakistan paid a higher price, over 100 terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor

Defence Secretary RK Singh has dismissed reports that India’s Rafale fighter jets were shot down by Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Singh said, “You have used the term Rafales in the plural, I can assure you that is absolutely not correct.” He also stated that Pakistan’s losses were far greater than India’s.

He added, “Pakistan suffered losses many times over India in both human and material terms and more than 100 terrorists eliminated.

The video that sparked the row

The denial comes after a clip surfaced online showing Captain Shiv Kumar, India’s defence attaché in Indonesia, saying that India lost aircraft during the initial strikes because political orders limited targets.


At a university event in Jakarta on 10 June, Kumar said, “We did lose some aircraft and that happened only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defence system.”

He explained further, “Suppression of enemy air defences and destruction of enemy air defences is very very important… I may not agree…that India lost so many aircraft, but I do agree we did lose some aircraft.”

After these losses, Kumar claimed tactics shifted towards hitting military sites instead of just terror camps.

Embassy Steps In

After the video spread on 29 June, the Indian embassy in Jakarta stepped in. It clarified that Kumar’s remarks were “quoted out of context” and said his point was only about the armed forces serving under “civilian political leadership”. It also underlined that Operation Sindoor was meant to target terrorist bases in a controlled response.

French Air Force chief’s take

Meanwhile, Associated Press reported that French Air Force chief General Jérôme Bellanger had seen evidence suggesting India lost three jets: a Rafale, a Su-30MKI and a Mirage 2000. However, these claims have not been confirmed by India officially.

What sparked Operation Sindoor

Operation Sindoor began on 7 May after terrorists killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. India launched strikes on nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes led to four days of heavy exchanges. Pakistan retaliated with shelling along the Line of Control, which killed at least 22 Indian civilians and eight defence personnel.

On 10 May, India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop active fighting.

No restrictions on armed forces, says Singh

RK Singh stressed that the Indian military faced no political hurdles. “No political constraints on our armed forces and they have full operational freedom in conflict,” he told CNBC-TV18.

He also confirmed plans to raise India’s defence spending share in GDP from 1.9 per cent to 2.5 per cent in the coming years.

Earlier, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan had also commented on the matter. On 31 May, he told Bloomberg, “Why they were down, what mistakes were made – that are important. Numbers are not important.” He said Pakistan’s claim of downing six Indian jets was “absolutely incorrect”.

With conflicting versions, the row over Rafale losses during Operation Sindoor is unlikely to end soon. For now, the government line is clear: no Rafales were lost and India’s response stayed focused on eliminating terrorist threats while avoiding wider escalation.