Rafale Controversy Erupts: Ex-Fighter Pilot Demands Modi Come Clean on Indian Air Force Losses

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — A political storm is brewing in India following explosive claims that the country’s prized Rafale fighter jets may have been shot down by Pakistani aircraft during recent cross-border hostilities, with a senior Telangana state minister and former Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot demanding full transparency from the central government.

N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Telangana’s Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies and a Congress Party leader, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration of concealing critical information regarding alleged combat losses involving the IAF’s most advanced fighters.

“We welcome the safe return of Indian Air Force pilots after successfully completing their missions,” Reddy said during a press conference in New Delhi.

“However, the central government must clarify the reports that our fighter jet has been downed.”

“The government should also reveal how many Pakistani fighter jets were shot down,” he added, casting doubt over the Modi-led BJP government’s narrative on the ongoing conflict.

Reddy, who remains a vocal critic of Modi’s BJP, accused the ruling party of politicising legitimate defence concerns by branding Congress Party leaders “unpatriotic” whenever questions are raised.

“If our leader Rahul Gandhi had made the same statement, the BJP leaders would have launched a massive campaign against him.”

“Democratic accountability is crucial in this operation. It should not be linked to patriotism.”

“Will they question the patriotism of CDS Anil Chauhan? No one is more patriotic than the Gandhi family,” he argued.

Reddy also took aim at Modi’s silence regarding controversial remarks made by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who publicly spoke of an India-Pakistan ceasefire before it was officially announced by the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both nations.

Reddy’s remarks came shortly after a bombshell interview with Bloomberg in Singapore, in which India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, acknowledged for the first time that the IAF had indeed suffered aircraft losses in the recent Pakistan-India confrontation.

Although General Chauhan did not specify the number of aircraft lost, he confirmed the incident, stating, “The key issue is not whether the aircraft was downed, but why it went down.”

He categorically dismissed Pakistani claims of downing six IAF jets as “completely inaccurate,” but notably refrained from offering any figures or alternative explanation.

“Numbers are not important,” Chauhan stressed, instead pointing to tactical missteps: “What is good is that we understood the mistakes, corrected them, and within 48 hours launched retaliatory long-range precision strikes with all our fighters.”

These remarks by India’s top military official appeared to lend credibility to reports emanating from Islamabad, where on May 17, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that Pakistan’s air force had shot down six Indian fighter jets during what is now regarded as the most severe aerial clash between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in recent history.

The sixth aircraft, a Mirage 2000, was reportedly downed during nighttime operations on May 6–7 near Pampore, east of Srinagar, an area close to the Line of Control.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs further claimed that three Rafales, one Su-30MKI, and a MiG-29 were shot down earlier in the conflict, all by PL-15E air-to-air missiles fired from Chinese-made J-10C fighters operated by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

“The much-hyped Rafale fighter jets have failed disastrously, and the Indian Air Force pilots have demonstrated a clear lack of proficiency,” declared Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

According to multiple military sources, the Indian aircraft were likely targeted and engaged by a combination of PAF J-10C and JF-17 “Thunder” fighters using China’s PL-15 missile—one of the most advanced beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air weapons currently in operation.

The J-10C, developed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG), and the JF-17, jointly developed by CAIG and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), represent a core component of Pakistan’s modern air combat fleet.

The PL-15 missile—believed to have been fired from as far as 182 km away in some engagements—is a Mach 4-class BVR weapon equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar seeker and was designed to rival top Western systems like the AIM-120D AMRAAM and the MBDA Meteor.

In what some analysts now describe as “the largest air battle in history,” an estimated 125 combat aircraft from both sides were reportedly involved in the initial exchanges, which saw Pakistan gain the upper hand with surgical long-range strikes from within its own airspace.

Despite increasing volumes of circumstantial and intelligence-supported evidence, New Delhi has so far refrained from acknowledging the loss of what could be up to six fighter jets, including three Rafales—its most advanced multirole aircraft, acquired from France under a high-profile defence deal.

When pressed on the matter, IAF Air Marshal A.K. Bharti remarked only, “We are in a wartime scenario. Losses are a part of battle,” a cryptic response that many analysts have interpreted as an implicit confirmation of combat losses.

Internationally, the claims have received surprising validation.

Senior U.S. defence officials told Reuters that Pakistani J-10Cs were “responsible for shooting down at least two Indian Air Force fighters,” with similar assertions echoed by French intelligence operatives.

CNN’s veteran national security correspondent Jim Sciutto posted on X that “at least one Rafale” had been downed by Pakistan, citing French intelligence sources.

French authorities are reportedly investigating whether more than one Rafale was lost in the incident, a claim that—if confirmed—could severely damage the Rafale’s reputation in future export markets.

CNN also reported that American intelligence analysts had concluded that “an Indian fighter jet was shot down during India’s air raids into Pakistani territory,” though Washington has not confirmed the exact weapons platform used by Pakistan.

A spokesperson from France’s Ministry of Armed Forces acknowledged that Paris is “in close contact with Indian authorities” to verify the fate of the Rafale jets and understand the implications of their reported combat performance.

“We are clearly in the fog of war and an intense information war,” the French spokesperson stated, reflecting growing uncertainty in European defence circles.

“What we know for certain is that we don’t yet fully know what has happened.”

“There are serious concerns regarding the operational outcomes involving the Rafale, and we are closely monitoring the situation,” the spokesperson added.

If confirmed, the downing of even a single Rafale would represent the first-ever combat loss for Dassault Aviation’s flagship fighter since its induction, sending shockwaves through the international defence market.

Since the first reports of losses emerged, Dassault Aviation’s stock has plummeted by 9.48% over five days.

Conversely, the shares of Avic Chengdu Aircraft Co., which produces the J-10C, surged by an astonishing 61.6% during the same period—underscoring a global reassessment of air combat capabilities.

Indonesian defence officials, who are scheduled to receive the Rafale in 2026, have reportedly raised concerns about its battlefield performance and are now conducting what they term a “legitimate and evidence-based reassessment” of the French platform’s survivability in contested airspace.

In the absence of official acknowledgement from New Delhi, the regional strategic equation may now be tilting—if not in favour of Pakistan, then certainly against the narrative India has worked hard to build around the invincibility of its Rafales.

— DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA