Aerophiles across the globe have pointed out an alleged inadvertent admission of India losing at least one Rafale jet after a French aviation publication reported that the country was ready to upgrade the 35 Rafale jets in use by the Indian Air Force (IAF).
According to details, Avions Legendaires has reported that Indians are turning to the most-evolved version of the French aircraft under a mega defence deal aimed at modernising “the thirty-five current Rafale F3s” in the IAF to the F4 standard – the advanced upgrade for the Dassault Rafale fighter jet.
While an agreement in this regard is expected to be signed in mid-February, which will also formalise the largest order ever placed for the Rafale with 114 firm aircraft, netizens have pointed out that France had officially delivered a total of 36 Rafales for the IAF back in December 2022.
So where did the 36th Rafale go?
According to Indian aerophiles and experts on an Indian defence blog called Indian Defence Research Wing (IDRW), the jet was lost during India’s aerial stand-off with Pakistan in May 2025, a claim widely reported by foreign media but repeatedly rejected by New Delhi.
“If everyone is claiming 35 Rafale F3R upgrade to F4 well that pretty much confirms 3 aircraft lost, as I was only aware of one MiG-29UPG and one Mirage 2000-5 being lost in combat. We don’t know whether it got shot down by a PL-15 but if it did that’d be embarrassing honestly, since that’s China’s attrition fighter and we still haven’t faced J-16s and J-20s in actual combat,” wrote one user.
Another said that a minimum of three losses, including one Rafale, were “pretty much confirmed” and the country was “only embarrassing itself” by denying it.
Some also remained critical of the article, and claimed that “many sources” had clearly indicated that all 36 Rafales were still flying with IAF and not a single aircraft of any type was lost in the confrontation with Pakistan.
One user referred to an Indian media report of losing a Rafale jet in service, and not in combat.
According to a report published in The Print two months after the stand-off, India lost one Rafale fighter jet due to a high-altitude technical failure and no enemy engagement.
The same was also reported by French website Avion De Chasse, quoting Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Éric Trappier. However, India did not make any official statement or assertions acknowledging the loss of aircraft in either condition.
It may be noted that Pakistani, as well as foreign, media outlets and defence commentators have consistently highlighted claims that the IAF suffered significant losses, including the downing of at least one Rafale fighter jet, during the stand-off.
United States (US) President Donald Trump has also repeatedly mentioned the loss of jets during the conflict.
These assertions gained traction after reports suggested that French disclosures had quietly confirmed a combat loss, contrasting with Indian claims.
While New Delhi has maintained that no Rafale was shot down in combat, Islamabad has used the episode to showcase its own air force’s capabilities and to challenge India’s narrative of invulnerability, framing the incident as a symbolic victory in the ongoing rivalry between the two nations.
Pakistan’s military supremacy against India was also highlighted in an annual report submitted to Congress by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC).
“Pakistan’s military success over India in its four-day clash showcased Chinese weaponry. While characterization of this conflict as a ‘proxy war’ may overstate China’s role as an instigator, Beijing opportunistically leveraged the conflict to test and advertise the sophistication of its weapons, useful in the contexts of its ongoing border tensions with India and its expanding defence industry goals. As Pakistan’s largest defence supplier, China provided approximately 82 percent of the country’s arms imports from 2019 to 2023,” read the report, mentioning Beijing’s role in the May 7-10 clashes.