ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top Chinese-made Pakistani fighter shot down at least two Indian military aircraft on Wednesday, two U.S. officials told Reuters, marking a major milestone for Beijing’s advanced fighter jet.
One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was high confidence that Pakistan had used the Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets – bringing down at least two.
Another official said at least one Indian jet that was shot down was a French-made Rafale fighter aircraft.
Delhi has not acknowledged the loss of any of its planes and instead said it carried out successful strikes against what it said was “terrorist” infrastructure inside Pakistan.
In France, Rafale manufacturer Dassault Aviation and the MBDA consortium, which makes the Meteor air-to-air missile, could not immediately be reached for comment on a public holiday.
(Reporting by Saeed Shah in Islamabad and Idrees Ali in Washington; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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