Pakistan Downs India's French Rafale Fighter Jets in History's Largest Aerial Battle

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pilots flying Chinese-made J10C fighter jets shot down at least two Indian Air Force's French-made Rafale jets in history's largest ever aerial battle involving over 100 combat aircraft on both sides, according to multiple media reports. India had 72 warplanes on the attack and Pakistan responded with 42 of its own, according to Pakistani military. The Indian government has not yet acknowledged its losses but senior French and US intelligence officials have confirmed that at least one Indian Rafale jet was shot down by Pakistan on May 7, 2025. Reports of  more Rafale downings are being investigated by western intelligence officials. This marks the first time that the sophisticated French-made warplane has been lost in combat.

Rafale is the most advanced French 4.5 generation fighter plane. Indian Prime Minister Narendra spoke about India's need for Rafale back in 2019 after the last IAF-PAF dogfight and said: "We (Indians) acutely felt the absence of Rafale today.....if we had Rafale today the results would have been very different....desh ka bahut nuksaan hua hai"  Then Mr. Modi proceeded to spend $7.4 billion to purchase 26 Rafale fighter jets from France in the hope of achieving air superiority over Pakistan.  Each Rafale cost Indian taxpayers $288 million. 

Military aviation analysts conclude from the results of the air battle that the Chinese technology is as good, if not better than, the western technology. However, men count as much, if not more than, the machines.  The legendary US Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager called Pakistan Air Force pilots "the best in the world".  In another tweet in 2015, Yeager said "they (PAF pilots) kicked the Indians butt". 

In the 1980s, the Pakistan Air Force pilots went head-to-head with Russian combat pilots in Afghanistan. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has the distinction of being the only air force that has engaged and shot down multiple Russian fighter pilots in combat since WWII.  The most prominent among those shot down by PAF was Colonel Alexander Rutskoy who ejected over Pakistani soil and was captured by Pakistan. After his release, Rutskoy was decorated as a hero of the Soviet Union and went onto become vice president of Russia under Boris Yeltsin, before leading an attempted coup in 1993, according to The National Interest publication. 

The aerial battle between Pakistani and Indian fighter jets, which Pakistani officials claim downed five Indian planes, was one of the “largest and longest in recent aviation history,” a senior Pakistani security source told CNN.  Over 100 combat planes battled for over an hour, with neither side leaving its own airspace, according to the CNN source who detailed that the missile exchanges were happening at distances sometimes greater than 160 kilometers (100 miles).  The entire air battle was conducted using BVR (beyond visual range) radars/sensors with stand-off weapons. 

Global militaries and defense analysts are now studying the India-Pakistan aerial battle on May 7, 2025, according to Reuters. Here's an excerpt of the Reuters' report: 

"Experts said the live use of advanced weapons would be analyzed across the world, including in China and the United States which are both preparing for a potential conflict over Taiwan or in the wider Indo-Pacific region. One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters there was high confidence that Pakistan had used the Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets". 

Here's Prime Minister Modi Speaking of India's Acute Need For Rafale in 2016:

https://youtu.be/QIt0EAAr3PU?si=KpcJW60jvD9r0xeQ

http://www.youtube.com/embed/QIt0EAAr3PU?si=KpcJW60jvD9r0xeQ"; title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>" height="315" src="https://img1.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" width="560" style="cursor: move; background-color: #b2b2b2;" /> 

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[Riaz Haq]

Zhao DaShuai 东北进修🇨🇳
@zhao_dashuai
Shares of Shenyang Aircraft Corporation surges after Pakistan confirms they will purchase 40 J-35AE stealth fighters.

https://x.com/zhao_dashuai/status/1932132330858295350

[Riaz Haq]

Sushant Singh
@SushantSin
Narrative is a function of reality. India suffered significant combat losses on the first night which it wants to paper over. It is by hiding the reality that you lose the narrative war globally. Domestically you can make the people believe that Karachi was about to be captured.


https://x.com/SushantSin/status/1932291800171168138

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Pakistan used Chinese weapons in its fight with India. The impact may be far-reaching : NPR

https://www.npr.org/2025/06/10/nx-s1-5421262/pakistan-used-chinese-...

[Riaz Haq]

Thomas Keith
@iwasnevrhere_
Absolute clown take. These guys see a 200-jet precision raid backed by decades of U.S. air supremacy, stealth platforms, and total electronic warfare integration, and think Delhi could just copy-paste it across the Himalayas into Pakistani airspace, like it's a sandbox sim.

Newsflash: Pakistan already knocked India’s teeth out in May, No. 24 Squadron ran EW rings around their entire northern command, Rafales got lit up on open comms, and not a single PAF bird was scratched while Indian radars went blind.

You want to “do what Israel did to Iran”? Try penetrating PAF airspace first without losing an AWACS or triggering Chinese over-the-shoulder coverage. Try pushing a strike package past Ormara without BeiDou spoofing your targeting mid-flight. Try not getting your ports jammed and your markets spooked before the first sortie.

Bharat isn’t Israel, and Pakistan isn’t Iran. The last time Delhi tried to play empire, it got clocked across 3 domains before it could even write the press release. Keep talking, the next round won’t be a rehearsal.

https://x.com/iwasnevrhere_/status/1933536629236387879

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Thomas Keith
@iwasnevrhere_
When these doomer posts say “Pakistan is next,” they’re importing a framework that doesn’t apply. The Zionist and Indian obsession with “next” collapses under the reality that Pakistan is not a soft target, it’s a fused-state deterrent node with second-strike clarity, digital redundancy, and real-time uplink to a Eurasian shield.

The correct framing isn’t “Pakistan is next.” It’s: They tried, and Pakistan was ready. Anyone reading the May air war knows: Pakistan isn’t Iran’s sequel. It’s a firewall they couldn’t breach.

https://x.com/iwasnevrhere_/status/1933541177757728991

[Riaz Haq]

Captain Shiv Kumar: Indian Air Force instructed to not attack Pakistani air defenses

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/op-sindoor-losses-due-to-...

NEW DELHI: India lost some fighter jets on the opening day of the recent 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 (Indian Navy Captain Shiv Kumar) to Indonesia said at a seminar in Jakarta.


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The Government Tied IAF’s Hand
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https://youtu.be/Igudij1lRvk?si=8nIN1_gmkY9rApKz

SEAD, which stands for Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, is a military tactic focused on neutralizing or destroying enemy air defense systems.It's a critical component of air operations, designed to allow friendly aircraft to operate more safely and effectively in contested airspace. SEAD operations aim to degrade or eliminate the threat posed by enemy air defenses, such as surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA), enabling offensive air operations.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
What SEAD does:
Neutralizes or destroys enemy air defenses:
.
SEAD missions target and eliminate enemy air defense systems, including radar installations, missile sites, and anti-aircraft artillery.
Enables freedom of movement for friendly air forces:
.
By reducing the threat from enemy air defenses, SEAD allows friendly aircraft to operate more freely and effectively, supporting broader air operations.
Supports all air operations:
.
SEAD is a fundamental part of air power, supporting everything from preemptive strikes to local air superiority missions.
How SEAD is achieved:
Physical attack:
.
SEAD can involve direct strikes on enemy air defense systems using bombs, missiles, or other munitions.
Electronic warfare:
.
SEAD can also employ electronic warfare techniques, such as jamming enemy radar or using decoys to confuse their systems.
Information and command-and-control warfare:
.
Targeting the enemy's ability to detect, track, and engage friendly aircraft is also a crucial part of SEAD.

[Riaz Haq]

Kaz 🇵🇰
@kozamli
Former Air Chief Sohail Aman on the importance of Indigenization and Link 17 - Pakistan’s local TDL (tactical data link) system which allows for secure, jam-resistant voice and data sharing between aerial and ground assets for better coordination and situational awareness.

https://x.com/kozamli/status/1940768028284870765

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Mansoor Ahmed Qureshi
@MansurQr
Ex-PAF Chief:
We knew where every IAF jet was.
We broke their datalinks.
Their Rafales returned to dark runways.
34 bases hit.
May 7–10 wasn’t war. It was domination. 🇵🇰

https://x.com/MansurQr/status/1940650007390191688

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Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has disclosed that US Vice President JD Vance warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the night of May 9 about a possible large-scale attack by Pakistan, urging India to consider "certain things" to avoid escalation.

Speaking in an interview with the US media outlet, Jaishankar said the warning was issued during a direct phone call between Vice President Vance and PM Modi.

"I was in the room when the US vice president spoke to Prime Minister Modi on the night of May 9, warning that the Pakistanis would launch a very massive assault on India if we did not accept certain things," he said.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/amp/1326048-us-warned-modi-of-major-paki...

"That night, Pakistan did launch a large-scale attack," Jaishankar stated.

Recently, the strategic group "Quad" consisting of the United States, India, Japan and Australia chose not to name Pakistan in a joint statement condemning Pahalgam attack in IIOJK.

The US State Department issued a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the grouping, who met in Washington, but stopped short of naming Pakistan or blaming Islamabad.

Last month, Pakistan and India engaged in the military confrontation triggered by April's Pahalgam attack in IIOJK.

In response to the Indian aggression, Pakistan's armed forces launched a large-scale retaliatory military action, named "Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos", and targeted several Indian military targets across multiple regions.

Pakistan downed its six fighter jets, including three Rafales, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the US.

The ceasefire was first announced by US President Donald Trump on social media after Washington held talks with both sides, but India has differed with Trump's claims that it resulted from his intervention and threats to sever trade talks.

However, Pakistan has acknowledged Trump's efforts and formally recommended him for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, citing his role in defusing tensions between Pakistan and India last month.