Indian Rafale Crashed During Training
News Desk: India has reportedly lost one Rafale fighter jet during a high-altitude training mission, but the incident was not related to any enemy action, according to a French defence report quoting Dassault Aviation CEO Éric Trappier.
The report, published by French aviation site Avion De Chasse, states that the jet went down at over 12,000 metres during a routine extended training sortie, with no hostile radar contact or enemy engagement detected. Trappier clarified that the Rafale’s onboard SPECTRA electronic warfare suite found no signs of combat threat, and flight data confirmed the absence of hostile activity.
Dassault CEO Confirms No Combat Losses of Indian Rafale Jets; One Technical Incident Under Probe
Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, has confirmed that no Indian Air Force Rafale jets have been lost in combat “to enemy fire”, said specifically in context of… pic.twitter.com/awaD3bFOPE
— Defence Matrix (@Defencematrix1) July 6, 2025
So far, Indian authorities have not officially acknowledged the loss of a Rafale aircraft in non-hostile conditions.
Last month, India’s Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan admitted that the Indian Air Force sustained some losses during Operation Sindoor, but firmly rejected Pakistan’s claims of downing six Indian jets, including three Rafales, calling them “absolutely incorrect.” In an interview with Reuters, Chauhan said Indian jets later struck deep inside Pakistan, evading enemy defences and carrying out precision strikes.
India’s Defence Attaché to Indonesia, Navy Captain Shiv Kumar, also acknowledged “some” losses, attributing them to political constraints that limited Indian targets to terror camps, not military installations.
Éric Trappier had earlier dismissed Pakistani claims of downing Rafales as “inaccurate and unfounded.” In the June 25 report, ahead of the Paris Air Show, he reiterated that Dassault found no operational failure, and warned that the disinformation around Rafale losses was part of a broader smear campaign—likely backed by China—to weaken Rafale’s credibility amid its bids in Colombia, Serbia, and Malaysia.
French intelligence, according to an Associated Press report, believes Chinese defence officials actively lobbied countries like Indonesia to reconsider Rafale deals in favour of Chinese jets, as part of a wider strategy to disrupt French defence exports.
