Five Indian fighter jets, three of which were French-made Rafales, one Russian-made Sukhoi-30, and a MiG-29, have also been said to be shot down by the Pakistani army. The Indian jets were brought down after they launched attacks on Pakistani soil, a spokesman said.
Pakistan May Have Shot Down Indian Rafale
A senior French intelligence official told CNN on May 7 that a single Indian Air Force Rafale airplane was indeed shot down by Pakistan. It would be the first documented case of a French-made Rafale airplane being shot down during combat if proven accurate.
India has so far not commented on the charges in an official manner. But if the charges turn out to be true, it would be the biggest setback for the Indian army in decades and would push tensions between the two nuclear neighbors to a whole new level.
Read More: Matarbari Power Plant Runs at Just 15% Power
Rafale fighter jets have just entered into the Indian Air Force with the modernization of Indian armed forces underway. The objective has been to reduce dependence on Russian equipment and improve indigenous manufacturing of weapons—especially to fortify troops that are stationed along the disputed borders of India with Pakistan and China.
Before the crash, the Indian Air Force had 36 Rafale aircraft in their fleet. The Indian Navy relied predominantly on MiG-29 Russian-origin planes at that time.
This week, on Monday, a new agreement was signed between India and French company Dassault Aviation for purchasing 26 additional Rafale jets for the Navy for an estimated ₹63,000 crore (USD 7.4 billion).
