India’s Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh said the country’s military shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and a large surveillance aircraft during four days of clashes in early May, the worst fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours in decades. Speaking at a defence event in Bengaluru on Saturday, Singh offered the first detailed Indian account of “Operation Sindoor,” describing it as a high-tech conflict lasting 80–90 hours. Most of the aircraft were downed by India’s recently acquired Russian-built S-400 surface-to-air missile system, Singh said, calling the 300-kilometre engagement against the larger plane “the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill.” He also showed before-and-after satellite imagery of strikes on militant facilities in Bahawalpur and Muridke and claimed additional damage to parked F-16s at Pakistani bases. Islamabad swiftly rejected the statement. Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said not a single Pakistani aircraft was lost and challenged New Delhi to open both countries’ fleet inventories for independent verification. He warned that what he called India’s “comical narratives” risk dangerous miscalculation in a nuclearised region. U.S. officials have previously told Reuters they were unaware of any American-made F-16s in Pakistan being hit. The duelling claims follow months of mutual accusations over the May 7–10 hostilities, underscoring the lack of independent confirmation and the continued volatility of South Asia’s security environment.