The military, Reuters reported, said the five Indian fighter jets included three Rafale planes and one each of Russian planes, a Su-30 and MiG-29.

A spokesman for the military told Reuters Indian planes were only targeted after they attacked Pakistan.

There was no word from India on the downing of the jets, which would be the most serious loss for the Indian military in decades and risked further escalation.

The Rafale fighter is a new addition to India’s military, part of a plan to modernise its military, reduce dependence on Russian-origin equipment, and boost domestic weapons production to supply forces deployed along two contentious borders with Pakistan and China.

Before the clash, the Indian Air Force operated 36 Rafale fighters, while the navy’s aircraft fleet mainly comprises Russian MiG-29 jets.

India signed a deal with France’s Dassault Aviation on Monday to buy another 26 Rafale fighter aircraft worth 630 billion rupees ($7.4bn) for its navy in late April.