During the recent escalation between India and Pakistan, codenamed Operation Sindoor, Pakistan publicly claimed it had shot down five Indian Air Force jets, including three Rafale fighters, using advanced Chinese PL-15E missiles launched from J-10C aircraft. This claim, however, has been widely scrutinised and debunked by independent experts and media investigations due to a lack of credible evidence and inconsistencies in the supporting materialOperation Sindoor was launched by India as a targeted military response against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, following a deadly attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians. India stated its strikes were precise, targeting only militant infrastructure, and denied hitting civilian or non-militant military targets. In retaliation, Pakistan claimed to have downed five Indian jets, including three Rafales, and asserted the use of the Chinese PL-15E missile, known for its long-range capabilities.
Examination of Evidence Physical Evidence And Social Media Imagery
After the clashes, images surfaced on social media purporting to show debris from a downed Rafale near a school in Wuyan village, Jammu and Kashmir. These images were circulated as proof of Pakistan’s claims. However, aviation and defence experts quickly identified flaws in this narrative. Notably, Xavier Tytelman, a respected analyst, clarified that the debris shown was actually a drop tank-a jettisonable external fuel tank-commonly discarded by jets during missions to reduce weight, not evidence of a shootdown.
Further scrutiny revealed the tank bore markings from 1984, predating the Rafale’s first flight, and likely belonged to a Mirage-2000, not a Rafale. The “RPL” (for “réservoir pendular large,” meaning jettisonable external tank) marking indicated a generic external tank, not the “RFL” acronym associated with the Rafale.
