French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation on Tuesday rubbished reports that said its CEO Eric Trappier had made observations of the use of Rafale fighter jets during Operation Sindoor.
“In response to certain press reports quoting Dassault Aviation Chairman & CEO, Eric Trappier, about the Sindoor operation, Dassault Aviation formally denies that Eric Trappier has made any operational or technical comments regarding the use of the Rafale in this operation,” the company said in a brief statement.
Some reports originating in France on Tuesday claimed that Trappier said no Rafale was shot down during the India-Pakistan military clash but the Indian Air Force lost one jet due to technical failure, adding the matter is under investigation.
Operation Sindoor was India’s direct military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror strike in which 26 people were shot dead.
Senior military officials have acknowledged some air losses but no one in the government has spoken about the numbers.
India lost some fighter jets on the opening day of the military confrontation with Pakistan due to initial restrictions imposed by the government on striking Pakistani military establishments and the orders were to hit only terror infrastructure in that country, India’s defence attache to Indonesia navy Captain Shiv Kumar said at a seminar in Jakarta in June.
Kumar’s comments came after chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan said in Singapore on May 31 that India lost fighter planes on May 7 due to tactical mistakes that were swiftly rectified before the IAF returned in big numbers and carried out precision strikes deep inside the neighbouring country by punching through its air defences.
{{/usCountry}}Kumar’s comments came after chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan said in Singapore on May 31 that India lost fighter planes on May 7 due to tactical mistakes that were swiftly rectified before the IAF returned in big numbers and carried out precision strikes deep inside the neighbouring country by punching through its air defences.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier a senior IAF officer indicated there were some combat losses on the Indian side but the fighter pilots were back home.
Recent news reports said China is making concerted attempts to tarnish the reputation of the Rafale jets, which were used by India to strike targets in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, and hamper their global sales.