Pakistan Outgunned India in May Conflict: US Report

News Desk 

Islamabad: A new report submitted to the United States Congress has acknowledged Pakistan’s “military success over India” during the four-day conflict in May, highlighting Islamabad’s deployment of advanced Chinese-made weapons to down multiple Indian fighter jets, including French-built Rafales.

According to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission report, India triggered the confrontation after conducting strikes inside Pakistan in response to a deadly attack that killed 26 people in Pahalgam, located in Ind#ian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The report notes that the clashes marked the first time Pakistan used several of China’s most sophisticated weapons systems in active combat, including the HQ-9 air defence system, PL-15 air-to-air missiles and J-10C fighter aircraft. Islamabad claims to have downed seven Indian fighter jets during the conflict, including Rafales, in addition to dozens of drones.

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The commission stated that Pakistan’s performance became a significant “selling point” for Chinese defence exports. It further revealed that Beijing, in June, offered Islamabad a major additional defence package, including 40 J-35 fifth-generation fighter jets, KJ-500 surveillance aircraft and ballistic missile defence systems.

The report also underscored the unprecedented scale of the confrontation, stating that both sides struck deeper into each other’s territory “than at any point in the past 50 years.”

The conflict began when India launched missile strikes during the night of May 5 and 6, claiming to target “terrorist locations” inside Pakistan. The attacks, however, resulted in the martyrdom of multiple civilians and security personnel. Pakistan responded with a large-scale retaliatory operation, codenamed Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos, hitting more than 20 Indian military installations across several regions.

Pakistan Air Force also deployed JF-17 Thunder jets armed with hypersonic missiles to destroy an Indian S-400 air defence system in Adampur, the report noted.

Hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours ended on May 10 after a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States.