A high-ranking French intelligence official has confirmed a Rafale fighter jet used by the Indian Air Force was downed by Pakistan, marking the first time one of the French-made warplanes has been lost in combat.
The French official reportedly told CNN the European nation was investigating whether or not more than one Rafale jet was shot down after Pakistan military officials claimed three were lost overnight.
Around 50 casualties have been reported by the rival nuclear nations since India launched a series of missile attacks into Pakistani territory on May 7 following a terrorist attack in Kashmir, which left 25 Indian tourists and one Nepalese national dead last month.
Unverified images have been widely shared on social media alleging to show parts of an aircraft that crashed in Indian-administered Kashmir bearing the label of a French manufacturer, but experts claim it is not possible to say whether the part came from the twin-engine multirole fighter.
The 10-ton Rafale is equipped with a 30mm cannon for air combat and ground support as well as air-to-air missiles, laser-guided bombs, and cruise missiles.
The loss could cost India between £166.6million and £500m with the potentially downed jets likely to be from 2016’s £6billion deal signed between the south Asian nation and French manufacturer Dassault Aviation for the acquisition of 36 Rafales.
India’s reliance on French military hardware has only increased since the purchase of 26 Rafale Marine [Rafale M] fighter jets for its navy earlier this year. The deal raised concerns over cost-effectiveness, with each jet costing around $288 million per aircraft.
Indian officials have not yet commented on the reports, but Pakistan Army general, Lt Gen Sharif, argued: “We only targeted Indian planes after they attacked Pakistan.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asserted his nation’s air force had blown the Indian jets to “smithereens”.
“In an hour-long air battle, our pilots blew up the jets of the enemy to smithereens,” he added in an address to the nation on state television Wednesday night local time.
“It only took a few hours for the enemy to fall on its knees.”