Pakistan’s jet brought down two Indian fighter aircraft, US officials say

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: A top Chinese-made Pakistani fighter plane shot down at least two Indian military aircraft on Wednesday, two US officials told Reuters, marking a major milestone for Beijing’s advanced fighter jet.

The performance of a leading Chinese fighter jet against a Western rival is being closely watched in Washington for insights into how Beijing might fare in any showdown over Taiwan or the wider Indo-Pacific.

One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was high confidence that Pakistan had used the Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets – bringing down at least two.

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Another official said at least one Indian jet that was shot down was a French-made Rafale fighter aircraft.

Both officials said Pakistan’s F-16 aircraft, made by Lockheed Martin, were not used in the shootdown.

Delhi has not acknowledged the loss of any of its planes and instead said it carried out successful strikes against what it said was “terrorist” infrastructure inside Pakistan.

World powers from the US to Russia and China have called for calm in one of the world’s most dangerous, and most populated, nuclear flashpoint regions.

In France, Rafale manufacturer Dassault Aviation and the MBDA, BAES.L, LDOF.MI consortium, which makes the Meteor air-to-air missile, could not immediately be reached for comment on a public holiday.

While Reuters reported on Wednesday that three Indian planes went down, citing local government officials in India, this marks the first Western confirmation that Pakistan’s Chinese-made jets were used in the shootdowns.

Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khawaja Asif, told Reuters on Thursday that the J-10 was used to shoot down three French-made Rafale planes, which were newly acquired by India.

Altogether, Pakistan says it downed five Indian planes in air-to-air combat.