Indian Air Force jets shot down as tensions escalate between India, Pakistan

The downed aircraft have been reported as a Sukhoi SU-30, three Dassault Rafale aircraft, Mikoyan MIG-29 fighter jet and a Heron drone.

The altercations follow recent reports of gunfire and shelling from both countries’ troops stationed along the border. A Pakistan Air Force JF-17 fighter jet has also reportedly been shot down over Indian airspace, according to local media.

Historic tension began boiling over after armed militants targeted non-Muslim tourists and killed 26 people near Pahalgam in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April. In response, India launched at least nine retaliation air strikes against alleged terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, Jammu and the Kashmir region as part of Operation Sindoor earlier this week.

“The cunning enemy has carried out a cowardly attack on five locations in Pakistan,” a translated public statement made by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif read.

“Pakistan fully reserves the right to respond forcefully to this warlike act imposed by India, and a robust response is being given.

“The entire nation stands with the Pakistan Armed Forces, and the morale and spirit of the entire Pakistani nation are high. The Pakistani nation and the Pakistan Armed Forces know well how to deal with the enemy.

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“We will never allow the enemy to succeed in its nefarious objectives.”

In growing signs of a wider conflict, the airspace over Pakistan has been cleared of civilian flights, schools have been closed and hospital staff put on standby in Pakistan and airports have been closed in the northern India areas of Dharamshala, Leh, Jammu, Srinagar and Amritsar.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has confirmed that American leadership is “monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely”.

“I echo the President of the United States’ comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution,” he said on X (Twitter).

In a move looking back in hindsight at the media confusion of the most recent Israel-Gaza conflict, a dedicated Indian ‘Press Information Bureau Fact Check’ account has been created on X (Twitter) to quickly address and dispute claims from Pakistani social media.

Defence Connect will update this story as events unfold.

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.