A growing rift has emerged between India and France following the reported downing of several Indian Air Force (IAF) jets — including Dassault Rafales — during the recent escalation with Pakistan.
According to reports, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) downed six Indian jets in the early stages of the conflict. These included three French-made Rafales, one Su-30MKI, one MiG-29, and a Mirage 2000, most of which were lost during deep-strike missions over Pakistani territory.
The shootdowns have sparked fresh diplomatic strain between the two long-standing defence partners, with the credibility of France’s flagship multirole fighter now under scrutiny.
General Anil Chauhan, India’s Chief of Defence Staff, confirmed the loss of aircraft during the hostilities but declined to give specific figures. “The key question is not how many jets were lost, but why,” he said during an interview with Bloomberg. “Understanding the mistakes is more important than the numbers.”
Tensions escalated further when Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of the Rafale, reportedly refused to provide India with access to the aircraft’s source code — a move seen as limiting India’s ability to fully assess or upgrade the jets. Meanwhile, Dassault has pushed back against criticism, attributing any performance issues to operational errors or maintenance shortcomings on India’s side rather than faults in the aircraft itself.
India has reportedly denied access to Dassault’s audit teams, who requested to inspect the Rafale fleet currently in IAF service. According to Indian media, New Delhi fears the French may use the inspection to deflect blame for the Rafale’s underwhelming combat performance.
The controversy has now reached beyond India. Concerned over the aircraft’s combat effectiveness, Indonesia is reportedly reassessing its recent procurement deal with Dassault. European defence analysts have also begun re-evaluating strategic assumptions around French fighter jets.
The fallout is already being felt in financial markets — shares in Dassault took a hit following early reports of the Rafales being shot down.
As the diplomatic and defence implications continue to unfold, both New Delhi and Paris face mounting pressure to clarify the Rafale’s role — and reliability — in high-stakes aerial combat.
