Exclusive-Pakistan's Chinese-made jet brought down two Indian fighter aircraft, US officials say

By Saeed Shah, Idrees Ali

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A apical Chinese-made Pakistani combatant level changeable down astatine slightest 2 Indian subject craft connected Wednesday, 2 U.S. officials told Reuters, marking a large milestone for Beijing's precocious combatant jet.

An Indian Air Force spokesperson said helium had nary remark erstwhile asked astir the Reuters report.

The show of a starring Chinese combatant pitchy against a Western rival is being intimately watched successful Washington for insights into however Beijing mightiness fare successful immoderate showdown implicit Taiwan oregon the wider Indo-Pacific.

One U.S. official, speaking connected information of anonymity, said determination was precocious assurance that Pakistan had utilized the Chinese-made J-10 craft to motorboat air-to-air missiles against Indian combatant jets - bringing down astatine slightest two.

Another authoritative said astatine slightest 1 Indian pitchy that was changeable down was a French-made Rafale combatant aircraft.

Both officials said Pakistan's F-16 aircraft, made by Lockheed Martin, were not utilized successful the shootdown.

Delhi has not acknowledged the nonaccomplishment of immoderate of its planes and alternatively said it carried retired palmy strikes against what it said was "terrorist" infrastructure wrong Pakistan.

World powers from the U.S. to Russia and China person called for calm successful 1 of the world's astir dangerous, and astir populated, atomic flashpoint regions.

In France, Rafale shaper Dassault Aviation and the MBDA consortium, which makes the Meteor air-to-air missile, could not instantly beryllium reached for remark connected a nationalist holiday.

While Reuters reported connected Wednesday that 3 Indian planes went down, citing section authorities officials successful India, this marks the archetypal Western confirmation that Pakistan's Chinese-made jets were utilized successful the shootdowns.

Pakistan’s Defense minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, told Reuters connected Thursday that the J-10 was utilized to sprout down 3 French-made Rafale planes, which were recently acquired by India.

Altogether, Pakistan says it downed 5 Indian planes successful air-to-air combat.

CLOSELY EYING

The Rafale and the exemplary of the J-10 utilized by Pakistan are some considered procreation 4.5 combatant jets, placing them astatine the starring borderline of combat aircraft.

Western analysts and defence manufacture sources said the unrecorded usage of immoderate of the precocious weapons that could beryllium deployed successful aboriginal large powerfulness conflicts would beryllium scrutinized successful infinitesimal detail, but emphasized it was excessively aboriginal to gully steadfast conclusions.

"Air warfare communities successful China, the U.S. and a fig of European countries volition beryllium highly funny to effort and get arsenic overmuch crushed information arsenic they tin connected tactics, techniques, procedures, what kit was used, what worked and what didn't," said Douglas Barrie, elder chap for subject aerospace astatine the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Social media posts highlighted the face-off betwixt China's PL-15 air-to-air rocket against the Meteor, produced by European rocket radical MBDA.

But the analysts and sources said important details were unclear including whether Meteors were carried oregon however they whitethorn person been deployed.

"At the infinitesimal it's not imaginable to justice anything. We cognize truthful little," a Western defence manufacture root said.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan person fought 3 large wars, arsenic good arsenic galore smaller conflicts.

Blasts rang retired crossed the metropolis of Jammu successful Indian Kashmir precocious connected Thursday during what Indian subject sources said they suspected was a Pakistani drone onslaught crossed the portion connected the 2nd time of clashes betwixt the neighbors.

Pakistan said earlier connected Thursday it changeable down 25 drones from India overnight, portion India said its aerial defenses had stopped Pakistani drone and rocket attacks connected subject targets.

(Reporting by Saeed Shah successful Islamabad and Idrees Ali successful Washington; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher successful Paris and Shivam Patel successful New Delhi; Editing by Don Durfee and Matthew Lewis)