INDIA PERSPECTIVE

The Times of India deploys massive, detailed coverage with headlines that don't shy from drama: 'Iran downs F-15, A-10 jets: First US combat aircraft losses in over 20 years.' The article quotes retired Brigadier General Houston Cantwell: 'The fact that this hasn't happened until now is an absolute miracle. We're flying combat missions here, they are being shot at every day.' A second article details minute-by-minute what a pilot downed behind enemy lines faces: SERE procedures (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape), multiple fracture risks during ejection, a sidearm as the only weapon. The Times also publishes a specific article on Iran's $60,000 bounty for the pilot's capture. India watches this war with calculated non-alignment: New Delhi purchases discounted Iranian oil through discreet channels, and every week of Hormuz blockade worsens its domestic energy crisis. The downing of two US planes isn't read as a military incident but as a signal the war will last longer than expected -- and that India's energy bill will keep climbing.