Pakistan downed Indian jets with Chinese aircraft, says Ishaq Dar
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has confirmed that all Indian fighter jets involved in the recent cross-border escalation were shot down by Pakistan using Chinese-made J-10C aircraft.
According to a social media post on X, he asserted that Pakistan’s air force, equipped with J-10C fighters armed with PL-15E air-to-air missiles (with a reduced range of 145 km), successfully downed multiple Indian aircraft, including Rafale fighter jets.
While questioning the competence of Indian pilots and highlighting the underperformance of Rafale jets, Dar said that Pakistan’s JF-17 Block III and J-10C fighters, supported by Chinese ZDK-03 and Swedish Saab 2000 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) systems, played a crucial role in detecting and engaging the Indian aircraft.
❗️🇵🇰⚔️🇮🇳 - Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar claimed that Pakistan shot down all Indian fighter jets, including Rafale jets, using Chinese-made J-10C aircraft equipped with PL-15E air-to-air missiles (range reduced to 145 km).
Dar stated that Indian pilots showed poor… pic.twitter.com/db1K4jtiSmDespite India’s superior missile systems, such as the French-made Meteor missiles with a range exceeding 150 km, and its AWACS fleet including the Beriev A-50EI and DRDO Netra, Dar noted that no confirmed Pakistani aircraft losses were reported.
His statement aligns with recent remarks by two US officials who told Reuters that a Chinese-made J-10C fighter jet operated by Pakistan shot down at least two Indian military aircraft. One of the officials, speaking anonymously, said there was "high confidence" in the assessment, with one of the downed jets confirmed to be a French-built Rafale.
India has not acknowledged the loss of any aircraft and maintains that it conducted successful strikes targeting what it called “terrorist infrastructure” inside Pakistani territory.