Some 125 Indian and Pakistani fighter jets battled for over an hour in one of the biggest dogfights in recent history, according to a Pakistani security source quoted by CNN.

If the numbers of aircraft were confirmed, it would make it one of the largest air battles since World War Two.

  • tal@lemmy.today
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    22 hours ago

    The War Zone doesn’t have much up yet as of this writing, but I’d consider them a stronger publication on military matters than Newsweek.

    https://www.twz.com/air/the-air-to-air-missiles-that-equip-india-and-pakistans-fighters

    Meanwhile, another senior Pakistani security source has described to CNN a large-scale air battle involving 125 jets, fighting for over an hour, in which time the aircraft remained in their respective airspaces and lobbed AAMs at each other from long distances.

    As well as crewed fighters, Pakistan has also made extensive claims on the destruction of Indian drones. Earlier today, Pakistan said it had downed 25 Israeli-made Harop loitering munitions. One of these drones was able to “partially” engage a target near the city of Lahore, injuring four army personnel, according to Pakistan Army spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry.

    So far, India’s government has neither confirmed nor denied any of these losses. The use of Chinese-made AAMs by the Pakistan Air Force has also been capitalized on by Beijing, leading to the Indian embassy in China accusing Chinese state media of “disinformation.”

    Overall, a significant degree of confusion is very much typical when dealing with engagements that have been happening in the heat of combat. A flood of official and unofficial claims and counterclaims, some of them outlandish, is also to be expected, especially when dealing with social media. So, we should keep an open mind about the results of these aerial confrontations and consider that accidents, as well as friendly fire incidents, are also very possible. At the same time, Indian and Pakistani ground-based air defense systems have very likely also played a significant role, and any aircraft losses could also be the result of surface-to-air missile engagements.