A deepening rift has emerged between France and India concerning the performance of the Dassault Rafale fighter jet, following its reported losses during the recent Pakistan-India conflict. During the conflict, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) reportedly shot down six Indian fighter jets, including at least three Rafales. According to regional and Western media, as well as defense analysts from the United States and France, PAF J-10C squadrons successfully downed multiple Indian fighter jets in the opening phase of hostilities. This incident has ignited diplomatic tension between the two long-time defense partners, raising fresh questions over the credibility of France’s premier combat aircraft.
In addition to the suspected loss of at least three Rafales, India is also believed to have lost one Su-30MKI, one MiG-29, and one Mirage 2000, bringing the total to six confirmed or alleged shootdowns, most of which occurred during India’s deep-strike operations inside Pakistani territory. Indian Chief of Defence Staff General Chauhan confirmed that Indian jets were downed in the opening hours of the conflict but did not specify how many were lost. “What is important is not the jet being down, but why they were being downed. What mistakes were made — those are important. Numbers are not important,” Chauhan told Bloomberg TV.
According to reports, Dassault, the French manufacturer of the Rafale, has declined to provide India with the jet’s source code, further straining relations between the two nations. To defend Rafale’s reputation, Paris is also countering New Delhi’s claims by attributing any issues to maintenance and pilot error instead of inherent flaws in France’s top fighter jet. Compounding the situation, the Indian government is reportedly blocking Dassault’s audit team from inspecting India’s Rafale fleet. Dassault’s auditors had wished to evaluate the Indian Rafales to verify that there were no technical issues that the Indian Air Force (IAF) may have overlooked.
The Indians appear to be uneasy about this request. According to Indian reports, New Delhi is understandably wary that the French auditors may intend to attribute the lackluster performance of the Dassault Rafales to the Indian Air Force itself. However, the situation does not conclude here.
The performance of Dassault Rafale fighter jets during the Pakistan-India conflict has also drawn the attention of other nations. The Indonesian government, concerned about the purported deficiencies of the aircraft, has reportedly initiated its own audit of a recent agreement with Dassault. This incident has also prompted Europe to reassess its military strategies. Meanwhile, it was reported that Dassault shares dropped significantly after reports of the downing incidents emerged.
