Rafale jet downed for first time in combat by Pakistan, confirms French intel official

An Indian Air Force Rafale aircraft taking off from Merignac air base, southern France. —AFP/File

Responding to India’s cowardly midnight strikes, Pakistan asserted its air combat dominance by downing five retreating fighter jets — including three Rafales, marking the first-ever kills of the French-made warplane.

A Su-30MKI and a MiG-29 Fulcrum were also among the downed Indian planes.

CNN quoted a high-ranking French intelligence official as saying: “One Rafale fighter jet operated by the IAF (Indian Air Force) was downed by Pakistan, in what would mark the first time that one of the sophisticated French-made warplanes has been lost in combat.”

However, Indian officials have yet to respond to the claim.

“French authorities were looking into whether more than one Rafale jets were shot down by Pakistan overnight,” the official told CNN.

The label of a French manufacturer can be seen in the pictures of parts of the jet that crashed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), but experts are sceptical, saying it is difficult to confirm whether the debris belongs to a Rafale aircraft.

According to the report, Dassault Aviation, the French manufacturer of the jet, has not yet responded to CNN’s requests for comment.

It must be noted that the Rafale is a 10-ton, twin-engine multirole fighter that includes a 30mm cannon for air combat and ground support, as well as air-to-air missiles, laser-guided bombs, and cruise missiles.

The IAF had 36 Rafale jets, purchased from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation, before the tensions between the two countries escalated after a militant attack at the tourist destination of Pahalgam in IIOJK, killing 26 people on April 22.

There has been no official comment from the French military so far.

India launched strikes on Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir early Wednesday morning, an assault that Islamabad called a "blatant act of war" as tension spirals between the nuclear-armed rivals.

According to the latest figures released by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), six Pakistani locations, from mosques to hydropower projects, were targeted, with, martyring 31 civilians and wounding 57 others.

In his press conference on Wednesday, ISPR Director-General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed that all PAF jets were safe after engaging Indian jets.

The Pakistan armed forces also destroyed multiple enemy posts in several sectors along the Line of Control (LoC). An intense exchange of fire was reported at the LoC, with the Pakistan Army engaging Indian army positions.