Paris/New Delhi: Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier has categorically rejected Pakistan’s claims that it downed multiple Indian Rafale fighter jets during Operation Sindoor, asserting that only one Rafale was lost — and that too, due to a technical failure at high altitude, not enemy fire.
Trappier clarified that flight logs and the Spectra electronic warfare suite aboard the Rafale did not record any hostile engagements during the conflict. He labelled the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) assertion that three Rafales were shot down by PL-15E missiles launched from J-10C aircraft as “inaccurate and unfounded.”
“The loss of one aircraft occurred without enemy contact,” Trappier said, adding that flight logs transmitted to Dassault provided no evidence of combat losses.
“Dassault has never hidden any operational losses of its aircraft,” he further emphasized.
Pakistan’s Claim & India’s Rebuttal
The latest Indo-Pakistan skirmish erupted on May 7, when India launched Operation Sindoor, a retaliatory strike targeting terror infrastructure inside Pakistan. In the aftermath, the PAF claimed it had downed five Indian jets, including three Rafales, without offering verifiable proof.
India’s Defence Secretary R.K. Singh, in an interview with CNBC TV18, strongly refuted Pakistan’s claims.
“You have used the term ‘Rafales’ in plural — I can assure you that is absolutely not correct. Pakistan suffered losses many times over in both human and material terms, including over 100 terrorists,” he stated.
Separately, Navy Captain Shiv Kumar, India’s defence attaché to Indonesia, acknowledged that some aircraft were lost on the opening day of the operation, attributing the setbacks to initial restrictions on attacking Pakistani military targets.
“I may not agree that India lost so many aircraft. But I do agree we did lose some. That happened only because of the constraint given by political leadership to not attack military establishments and their air defences,” said Kumar.
France Investigating Disinformation Campaign
The French government is now investigating what it calls a “disinformation campaign” against Dassault’s Rafale aircraft, allegedly orchestrated by Chinese defence attachés abroad to undermine confidence in the French fighter jet and promote Chinese-made alternatives.
“The Rafale was being targeted not merely as an aircraft but as a symbol of France’s strategic autonomy, industrial reliability, and defence partnerships,” said France’s Defence Ministry.
Officials said that some nations began questioning Rafale’s performance following Pakistan’s claims, prompting France to reinforce its messaging around the aircraft’s track record.
Global Rafale Sales Remain Strong
Despite the controversy, Dassault Aviation’s Rafale continues to see strong demand internationally. The company has sold 533 Rafale jets, with 323 exported to countries such as:
- India
- Egypt
- Qatar
- Greece
- Croatia
- United Arab Emirates
- Serbia
- Indonesia