Islamabad: In a dramatic escalation of South Asia's simmering tensions, Pakistan’s Chinese-made J-10 fighter jets shot down at least two Indian military aircraft on Wednesday, according to two senior U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters. The incident marks a significant milestone in global military aviation, as it is the first confirmed use of China’s J-10 in successful air-to-air combat against Western aircraft.
One of the downed jets was confirmed to be a French-made Rafale, a modern multirole fighter acquired by India in recent years. U.S. officials stated with “high confidence” that Pakistan deployed the J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles, without involving its U.S.-supplied F-16 fleet in the operation.
The clash is being closely watched in Washington, where defense analysts are assessing the implications of China’s fighter jets outperforming Western-built rivals in real combat—a scenario that could foreshadow future aerial confrontations in the Indo-Pacific or Taiwan Strait.
While Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Reuters on Thursday that the J-10 downed three Indian Rafales, Pakistan's military says a total of five Indian aircraft were destroyed in the encounter. This includes two other jets believed to be older models used by the Indian Air Force.
Delhi, however, has denied losing any aircraft, instead claiming it conducted successful strikes on what it calls “terrorist infrastructure” inside Pakistani territory. Indian officials have yet to issue a formal response to the U.S. assessment.
The French companies behind the Rafale and the Meteor missile system, Dassault Aviation and MBDA, have not commented, with France observing a public holiday.
World powers including the United States, Russia, and China have urged restraint, warning that further military escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors could endanger global stability.
This is the latest in a series of confrontations between the two countries. Just days earlier, Pakistan announced it had intercepted 25 Israeli-made Indian drones, further inflaming tensions across the region.
