India Claims Six Pakistani Aircraft Downed May Clash Amid Pakistani Denial

India's Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh publicly claimed that during the May 7-10 clashes, India shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one large military aircraft, possibly a surveillance plane, using the Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system, labeling it the largest recorded surface-to-air kill. Singh cited electronic tracking data as confirmation but did not specify the types of fighter jets downed and stated that some Pakistani F-16s were hit while parked at airbases. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif strongly refuted these claims, calling them implausible, ill-timed, and lacking evidence, and emphasized that no Pakistani aircraft were destroyed by Indian forces during Operation Sindoor. Asif also accused Indian officials of masking strategic failures and suggested independent verification of losses by both sides. The conflict marked the worst military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades, with Pakistan asserting it downed six Indian aircraft, including a Rafale fighter, a claim India denies. The Indian claims have faced skepticism due to the absence of verifiable proof, while Indian losses have been publicly acknowledged with some supporting footage.