By A Correspondent
New Delhi/Paris: French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation‘s chief executive officer Éric Trappier has firmly dismissed Pakistan‘s claim that it downed three Indian Air Force (IAF) Rafale combat jets during the May 2025 Operation Sindoor, calling the assertion “inaccurate” and unsupported by facts.
Speaking to a French magazine ahead of the Paris Airshow, Trappier addressed the swirling rumors around India’s reported loss of a Rafale in its first large-scale aerial engagement with Pakistan. While New Delhi hasn’t officially confirmed any loss, Islamabad’s dramatic claims have made headlines.
“The Indians haven’t communicated, so we don’t know exactly what happened. But what we do know is that Pakistan’s version — that three Rafales were destroyed — is inaccurate,” Trappier said, adding that it’s too early to conclude without official confirmation.
Questions have emerged in defence circles about whether the Rafale has shown cracks under pressure. Trappier rejected that line of thought.
“In combat, the measure of success isn’t zero losses — it’s mission success,” he said. “During World War II, losing aircraft didn’t mean losing the war.”
He emphasised that real combat outcomes are judged by whether objectives were met, not by whether every jet returns untouched. “We’ll see what actually happened. When the truth comes out, there may be surprises,” he added.
Operation Sindoor marked the IAF’s first major combat use of its Rafale fleet since acquiring the French-built jets in 2020. The IAF has detailed how precision strikes during the operation forced Pakistan into a ceasefire — a point overlooked in Pakistan’s narrative.
Though Pakistan’s version of events has saturated its domestic media, military analysts remain doubtful. Many cite Islamabad’s history of inflating battlefield claims and note the absence of any evidence supporting the Rafale losses.
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