Inside Story of How Pakistan Shot Down India’s ‘Invincible’ Rafale

Pakistan took down six Indian jets, including three advanced French Rafale jets, during the four-day conflict in May.

Although India initially denied losing any of its Rafales, the kill was confirmed by a French intelligence official soon after the air skirmish. Later, India’s military also acknowledged that an unspecified number of its fighter jets were shot down.

How Pakistan Shot Down the Rafale

In a report yesterday, Reuters provided inside details of how one of the world’s most cutting-edge fighter jets was shot down by Pakistan’s Chinese-made J-10C.

According to the report, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Chief Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu specifically instructed targeting India’s French-made Rafale jets after India initiated airstrikes against Pakistan in the early hours of May 7.

The hour-long air battle, fought under the cover of darkness, involved an estimated 110 aircraft, making it the largest air combat operation in decades, according to experts.

Pakistan’s secret weapon, the PL-15

At the heart of the Rafale’s downing was an Indian intelligence oversight regarding the range of the China-made PL-15 missile launched by the J-10 fighter. The flawed intelligence led Rafale pilots to mistakenly believe they were beyond the range of Pakistani missiles, estimated at around 150 km based on the widely cited range of the PL-15’s export variant, according to an Indian official.

“We ambushed them,” a PAF official stated, adding that Pakistan launched an electronic warfare attack on Delhi’s systems to disrupt and confuse Indian pilots.

The PL-15 missile that struck the Rafale was launched from approximately 200 km away, according to Pakistani officials, with Indian officials suggesting an even greater distance — making it the longest-range air-to-air strike ever recorded.

According to the report, Pakistan not only had the advantage of surprise due to the extended range of its missiles, but also succeeded in more effectively integrating its military hardware with ground and aerial surveillance. This gave it a clearer view of the battlefield.

Kill chain

The report notes that Pakistan established a “kill chain,” a multi-domain operation linking air, land, and space sensors. This network incorporated a Pakistani-developed system called Data Link 17, which connected Chinese military equipment with other assets, including a Swedish-made surveillance aircraft.

The system enabled J-10 fighters flying closer to India to receive radar data from the surveillance plane operating at a greater distance, allowing the fighters to keep their radars off and remain undetected, experts said.

The story is based on a detailed report by Reuters, which can be read here.

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