Pakistan, Aug. 10 -- When India's Air Chief stood before the cameras yesterday, claiming his country had downed six Pakistani aircraft in the much-discussed clash-three months after it actually occurred, it was less a factual statement than a test of how far a lie could travel before truth caught up. Pakistani air operations data, corroborated by recovered wreckage from Indian territory, tell a very different story: no PAF aircraft were lost; six Indian fighters were destroyed, and property was damaged beyond immediate repair. These facts have already been confirmed by India's high-ranking officers, international media, and the plunging shares of French Rafales.

The decision to use PL-15 missiles, with their extended engagement envelope,...