Indian aircraft went down after the country launched attacks against Pakistan this week, in what it said was retaliation for a terrorist attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 26 people and caused tensions between the two nations to boil over.
The exact number and variety of lost aircraft is not yet clear.
Two or three Indian aircraft went down inside India’s border, according to Indian officials, Western diplomats and local media reports. Pakistan, for its part, claims it shot down five planes and at least one drone: three Rafale fighter jets, one MIG-29 fighter aircraft, one Su-30 fighter jet and one Heron drone.
The New York Times was unable to independently verify these claims.
John E. Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a nonprofit research group based in Alexandria, Va., said those five aircraft and the drone could have been downed by surface-to-air or air-to-air missiles. “Pakistan has both,” he said.
Here is what to know about the aircraft Pakistan’s military says it shot down.
Rafale
The Rafale is a twin-engine fighter jet that can take off from an aircraft carrier or a base onshore, according to its French manufacturer, Dassault Aviation.
In April, the Indian government signed a deal with France to purchase an additional 26 of the aircraft for the Indian Navy, to be delivered by 2030. According to Dassault Aviation, India had previously ordered 36 Rafales.
Photos from the village of Wuyan in India-administered Kashmir, showed debris identified as an external fuel tank for a plane. Trevor Ball, an associate researcher at Armament Research Services, said that the tank was likely from a French-made Mirage or Rafale fighter jet, but he could not confirm whether the fuel tank came from an aircraft that had been hit by enemy fire.
MIG-29
The Soviet-designed MIG-29 is a twin-engine fighter aircraft developed to counter U.S. fighters like the F-16. The Soviet Air Force began using MIG-29s in the 1980s, and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many former Soviet republics continued to use the plane. It has also been a popular export; over 30 nations have used or operated it, according to the U.S. Army Training Command.
The plane was originally intended for dogfighting enemy aircraft, though some MIG-29s have been outfitted for attacking ground targets.
The MIG-29 is often a competitor with the F-16 in international arms sales Mr. Pike said, adding that it was a “competition which it frequently loses.”
Su-30
The Su-30 is a twin-engine fighter jet developed in the Soviet Union in the 1990s by Russia’s Sukhoi Aviation. It can be used for air-to-air combat, or missions striking targets on the ground, according to a U.S. Army analysis.
It’s significantly bigger than the MIG-29, at nearly 72-feet long and with a wingspan of over 48 feet. (The MIG-29 is nearly 57-feet long and has a wingspan of around 37 feet.)
Heron Drone
Heron drones encompass a family of Israeli-made unmanned aerial vehicles. U.S. government assessments list India as having at least one variant.
Shawn Paik contributed reporting.
