THE recent crisis between Pakistan and India has caused serious embarrassment to France. India had done much song and dance when it had purchased the French-made Rafales that were generally considered till the recent Indian adventurism among the most advanced aircraft produced by any Western country. The French aviation giant, Dassault Aviation, had been promoting the plane as ‘combat-proven’ becasue it had been seen in action in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and Mali. However, it could not stand its first real combat test against the might of Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which almost effortlessly shot down three of them in combat, and that, too, inside India’s air space. Just as the planes went down, so did Dassault’s share value in global stock markets. Not much different was the case of the national pride and reputation of France. They both suffered a nosedive.

Was it the plane or the pilot that was at fault? There are multiple questions that have remained unanswered thus far about Rafale’s maintenance and operational protocols followed by the Indian Air Force. The French manufacturer is surely looking into the whole affair critically to know what happened where.

Interestingly, PAF pilots had once created an embarrassing situation for the Zionist state of Israel. When flying combat missions in the older version of Russian MiG-21s for the Syrian Air Force during the Arab-Israel war, they had shot down a few Israeli Mirages, and Israeli-made Kfirs that were claimed by Israelis as their pride.

Following the humiliation and terror caused by PAF pilots, Israel had to ground the whole fleet of Kfirs. It was only after a thorough reassessment of the plane’s design, avionics, radar, and, indeed, some modifications that the Kfirs were finally re-inducted into service.

One interesting casualty of Rafale’s downfall might well be the offer that was made by United States President Donald Trump, who, in a great surge of love and bonhomie for India, had offered the country a few F-35s. Now, after the downing of three Rafales by the PAF, he must surely be having second thoughts.

Abid Mahmud Ansari
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2025