Mumbai: Indian Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan admits that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets during skirmish with the Pakistan Air Force.

Speaking to Bloomberg on the sidelines of the ongoing Shangrila Dialogue in Singapore, Gen Chauhan confirmed that Indian fighter aircraft were lost, though he refrained from disclosing the exact number.

Instead, he emphasised that the focus should be on why the jets were lost, not how many.

Gen Chauhan stated that the important thing was to understand where the mistakes occurred, what shortcomings were present, and what led to the loss of the aircraft. The number, he claimed, was not significant.

This marks the first official confirmation by the Indian military acknowledging the loss of fighter jets during recent skirmishes with Pakistan.

Previously, Pakistan's military and political leadership had announced that the Pakistan Air Force had shot down six Indian fighter jets, including three French-made Rafales.

A senior leader of India's ruling BJP had also admitted just a day earlier that five aircraft had been destroyed.

Interestingly, Gen Chauhan also dismissed US President Donald Trump's claim that America prevented a potential nuclear war between the two countries, calling it 'unrealistic.'

According to him, both nations were never close to deploying nuclear weapons.

The Indian general also attempted to downplay the effectiveness of Chinese-made weapons used by Pakistan. However, the results on the battlefield contradict his claims.