Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pilots flying Chinese-made J10C fighter jets shot down at least two Indian Air Force's French-made Rafale jets in history's largest ever aerial battle involving over 100 combat aircraft on both sides, according to multiple media reports. India had 72 warplanes on the attack and Pakistan responded with 42 of its own, according to Pakistani military. The Indian government has not yet acknowledged its losses but senior French and US intelligence officials have confirmed that at least one Indian Rafale jet was shot down by Pakistan on May 7, 2025. Reports of more Rafale downings are being investigated by western intelligence officials. This marks the first time that the sophisticated French-made warplane has been lost in combat.
Rafale is the most advanced French 4.5 generation fighter plane. Indian Prime Minister Narendra spoke about India's need for Rafale back in 2019 after the last IAF-PAF dogfight and said: "We (Indians) acutely felt the absence of Rafale today.....if we had Rafale today the results would have been very different....desh ka bahut nuksaan hua hai" Then Mr. Modi proceeded to spend $7.4 billion to purchase 26 Rafale fighter jets from France in the hope of achieving air superiority over Pakistan. Each Rafale cost Indian taxpayers $288 million.
Military aviation analysts conclude from the results of the air battle that the Chinese technology is as good, if not better than, the western technology. However, men count as much, if not more than, the machines. The legendary US Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager called Pakistan Air Force pilots "the best in the world". In another tweet in 2015, Yeager said "they (PAF pilots) kicked the Indians butt".
In the 1980s, the Pakistan Air Force pilots went head-to-head with Russian combat pilots in Afghanistan. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has the distinction of being the only air force that has engaged and shot down multiple Russian fighter pilots in combat since WWII. The most prominent among those shot down by PAF was Colonel Alexander Rutskoy who ejected over Pakistani soil and was captured by Pakistan. After his release, Rutskoy was decorated as a hero of the Soviet Union and went onto become vice president of Russia under Boris Yeltsin, before leading an attempted coup in 1993, according to The National Interest publication.
The aerial battle between Pakistani and Indian fighter jets, which Pakistani officials claim downed five Indian planes, was one of the “largest and longest in recent aviation history,” a senior Pakistani security source told CNN. Over 100 combat planes battled for over an hour, with neither side leaving its own airspace, according to the CNN source who detailed that the missile exchanges were happening at distances sometimes greater than 160 kilometers (100 miles). The entire air battle was conducted using BVR (beyond visual range) radars/sensors with stand-off weapons.
Global militaries and defense analysts are now studying the India-Pakistan aerial battle on May 7, 2025, according to Reuters. Here's an excerpt of the Reuters' report:
"Experts said the live use of advanced weapons would be analyzed across the world, including in China and the United States which are both preparing for a potential conflict over Taiwan or in the wider Indo-Pacific region. One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters there was high confidence that Pakistan had used the Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets".
Here's Prime Minister Modi Speaking of India's Acute Need For Rafale in 2016:
https://youtu.be/QIt0EAAr3PU?si=KpcJW60jvD9r0xeQ
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US Missile Sanctions: Is Pakistan Really Developing ICBMs?
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IDEAS2024: Pakistan Defense Industry Expo
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In Asia times, a former US deputy undersecretary of defence had written about this. CNN in more detail. Indian media has not yet not acknowledged this, I guess. But India already blocked Wire channel which questioned official narrative. Long term strategically, hard to say what to make out of this though. Rafael will have to improve or is probably not the best in the market yet.
ReplyDeleteHere is a good summary of the air battle. Relevant part starting 1:20:30
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax0FBm8jazs
Saar - i think the indians did the needful to Dassault and France.
ReplyDeleteThe mere fact that Indian government has not denied it should be a proof that these are not fake news
ReplyDeleteI am, however, disappointed that that Pakistan has not given a befitting reply yet. Time to teach them another lesson. People from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Rajistan to Nagaland should be made aware that they can be targeted.
As they say "laton kai bhoot ..."
G. Ali
Current events have once again proved my opinion that creation of India was a British mistake. The sooner this mistake is rectified the better else it would become a nuisance for the whole world.
ReplyDeleteG. Ali
The problem with India is that it is a country with no past. In other words, from the beginning, Indian leaders have not known how to conduct themselves as a sovereign nation. The only system they know well—intimately—is the British Raj. As a result, India's statecraft, especially its foreign policy, is essentially a continuation of the British Raj: expansionist and imperialistic.
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