Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Éric Trappier dismissed the claim that India lost Rafale jets during its recent military conflict with Pakistan under Operation Sindoor.

Trappier was quoted by the French website Avion De Chasse as saying that only one Rafale was lost due to a technical issue caused by high altitude, but none were brought down by enemy fire.

He explained that the incident involved a jet that crashed “at an altitude of more than 12,000 meters over a prolonged training exercise, with no hostile radar contact or enemy involvement”.

On Monday, July 7, Indian Defence Secretary RK Singh also confirmed that it was wrong to say India lost Rafales in the four-day conflict.

When asked about Indian casualties during the confrontation, Singh responded, “You have used the plural form of Rafales, I can assure you that is totally not correct. Pakistan lost much more than many times over India in terms of men and material, and over 100 terrorists.”

He also stated that Indian troops had complete freedom to operate during the conflict.

“No political restrictions on our military, and they have complete operational independence in war,” he stated.

India’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, was the first to confirm Indian Air Force losses last month while speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

He admitted that there were losses but firmly rejected Pakistan’s claim of shooting down six Indian jets, including Rafales and described it as “absolutely incorrect”.

Separately, India’s Defence Attaché to Indonesia, Navy Captain Shiv Kumar, also acknowledged that “some” aircraft were lost during Operation Sindoor.

While speaking at a seminar in Indonesia, he responded to a previous speaker who had referred to Pakistan’s claim that several Indian aircraft, including three Rafales, were shot down.

“Maybe I don't believe him when he says India lost so many planes. But I do believe we did lose some planes, and that is only because of the constraint provided by the political leadership not to hit the military bases and their air defence,” said Capt. Kumar.

French intelligence officials believe that China played a role in spreading doubt about the Rafale’s combat performance after Operation Sindoor.

According to a report by the Associated Press published on Sunday, classified intelligence shows that Chinese defence attachés have been lobbying foreign governments, especially Indonesia, to avoid buying more Rafales and instead consider Chinese-made fighter jets.