France Vs India: Diplomatic Tensions Soar Over Rafale Jet Performance
Islamabad: The alleged failure of Indian Rafale jets during the recent air clash between Pakistan and India has led to a serious rift in defense relations between India and France.
According to reports, the Pakistan Air Force shot down six Indian warplanes in the clash, including at least three Rafales.
According to regional and Western media, and defense experts from the United States and France, the Pakistan Air Force’s J-10C squadrons targeted the Indian planes in the initial phase of the clash.
The incident has sparked diplomatic tensions between the two long-standing defense partners and raised questions about the credibility of France’s flagship fighter jet, the Rafale.
In addition to the Rafales, India also reported the loss of an Su-30MKI, a MiG-29 and a Mirage 2000, bringing the total loss to six aircraft. Most of the planes were shot down by Indian air strikes inside Pakistan.
Indian Chief of Defence Staff General Chouhan confirmed that Indian fighter jets were shot down in the early hours of the clash, but he declined to give a figure for the number of planes lost. He said:
“The real question is not whether the planes were shot down, but why they were shot down, what mistakes were made — that is what matters, not the numbers.”
French company Dassault Aviation has refused to provide India with the source code for the Rafale jets, further straining relations between the two countries. France, in a bid to salvage the jet’s reputation, has attributed the Rafale’s failure to pilot error and lack of maintenance, rather than technical flaws in the aircraft.
The situation became more serious when India blocked Dassault’s audit team from inspecting the Rafale fleet.
The French team wanted to conduct a technical inspection of the Indian Rafales to identify possible flaws, but Indian officials fear that the French team may blame the Indian Air Force for the Rafale’s poor performance.
The dispute is not limited to India and France.
Indonesia has also expressed concern over the performance of the Rafale jets and has started reviewing its Dassault contract.
Meanwhile, European countries have also started reviewing their defense strategies after this development. According to the report, Dassault shares have also declined after the news of the Rafale jets’ crash.
