PARIS: A high-ranking French intelligence official told CNN on Wednesday that one Rafale fighter jet operated by the Indian Air Force was downed by Pakistan Air Force (PAF), in what would mark the first time that one of the sophisticated French-made warplanes has been lost in combat.
Pakistan has announced having shot down five Indian Air Force jets in retaliation for Indian strikes, including three Rafales. Indian officials are yet to respond to the claim. The French official told CNN that French authorities were looking into whether more than one Rafale jets were shot down by Pakistan overnight.
Pictures taken of parts of an aircraft that crashed in Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir show the label of a French manufacturer, but experts said it was not possible to say whether the part came from a Rafale aircraft.
According New York Times, a weapons researcher, who analyzed photos from one wreckage site in the village of Wuyan, identified the debris as an external fuel tank for a plane. The analyst, Trevor Ball, of Armament Research Services of the US, said the tank was likely from a Rafale or Mirage fighter jet, both of which are made by the French manufacturer Dassault Aviation and used by India. Mr. Ball could not confirm whether the tank had come from an aircraft that had been hit by enemy fire. Dassault Aviation, the French manufacturer of the jet, has not responded to CNN’s requests for comment.
The Rafale is a 10-ton, twin-engine multirole fighter, equipped with a 30mm cannon for air combat and ground support, along with air-to-air missiles, laser-guided bombs, and cruise missiles.
Before this latest escalation, India had 36 Rafale jets in its Air Force, purchased from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
The French military has not officially commented on the incident. However, the company’s stock prices did take a hit, plummeting 6 per cent after Pakistan announced to have downed three Rafale jets.
According to media reports, the sharp contrast in investor sentiment could be a sign of global market confidence in the capabilities of PAF and performance of the JF-17 and J-10C jets, developed in cooperation with China.