Did Pakistan shoot down three Indian Rafale jets in Kashmir clashes?
India carried out strikes in Pakistan on the night of May 6 to 7, to which Pakistan responded with artillery fire in Kashmir. The clashes took place amid tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours in the aftermath of a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22.
After the clashes, Pakistani army spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, claimed that five Indian aircraft had been shot down in Indian airspace, including 'three Rafales, one MiG-29, and one SU-30".
Some Pakistani internet users are claiming that several videos and pictures provide evidence of the destruction of the Rafale fighter jets, which are considered the Indian Air Force's most advanced combat aircraft. These claims are being disputed by Indian online users, who say they are part of a disinformation campaign.
All jets allegedly crashed in Indian-controlled territory, so neither Pakistan nor India has released any photos with official statements so far.
Several images taken out of context have been circulating online since the night of May 6.
For instance, a picture allegedly showing a 'completely destroyed' Rafale aircraft was shared by Pakistani online users. They claim that the fighter jet has been found near Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
However, our team ran this photo through a reverse image search (click here to find out how) and found the origin of this image. The picture was taken on May 21, 2021, after a Soviet-designed Indian MiG-21 fighter jet crashed near Moga, in the Indian state of Punjab.
Pro-Pakistan accounts also shared another photograph allegedly showing a Rafale jet on fire in Bahawalpur. Through a reverse image search, we were able to establish that it comes from an old video, which was filmed on September 2, 2024, after the crash of an Indian MiG-29 fighter jet near Barmer, India.
Aircraft debris with French writing? It's a drop tank
Separately, Pakistani internet users shared other images, claiming they showed evidence of a destroyed Rafale aircraft. These images were indeed taken shortly after the clashes of May 6. According to these users, photographs released by the French Press Agency (AFP) on May 7 appear to show Rafale debris located near a school in Wuyan village, in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir.
These online users say the inscriptions visible on the wreckage found in Wuyan confirm the aircraft's identity. They also say the writing includes the name of a French company, Le Bozec et Gautier, and the RFL acronym, commonly used to refer to Rafales.
But Xavier Tytelman, an aviation and defence consultant, says this interpretation is incorrect.
'[These images] are not proof that a plane was shot down. It shows a drop tank [Editor's note: and not a Rafale wreckage.] When a jet goes on a mission, once it has used its fuel, it will lighten its load and drop its tank. It's something planes intentionally release during their missions.'
It is also likely that the fuel tank belongs to a Mirage 2000, another French aircraft also used by the Indian Air Force, rather than a Rafale. A higher-resolution image reveals that a part of the tank was manufactured in December 1984. This is a year and a half before the first test flights of the Rafale demonstrator.
Additionally, contrary to claims made by some Pakistani internet users, the acronym RPL (for "réservoir pendulaire largable", meaning jettisonable external tank) is written on the tank, not RFL, which is associated with the Rafale.
Unexploded missile and jet engine possibly from a Rafale
Further videos are lending more credence to the theory that a French-made military aircraft was destroyed.
video shared online on May 7 shows the debris of a pylon – a missile attachment point – marked 'missile launcher'.
Just a few metres from the pylon, the video also shows an unexploded missile.
These two elements are characteristics of a Mica air-to-air missile, "recognisable by the fins at the back [of the missile] and the markings on the pylon", says Tytelman.
The Mica missile is used by both the Mirage 2000 and the Rafale, but the video does not show enough detail to identify the specific jet model the missile belonged to.
Some online users claim that the video was filmed in the village of Akalian Kalan in Punjab, but we were unable to verify this location.
Another video and a photograph circulating on social media, 'if indeed confirmed", would more definitively show the debris of a Rafale aircraft, Tytelman said. The video reportedly shows the remains of an M88 jet engine – identifiable by its flaps and rivets – which powers the Rafale.
The video was allegedly filmed near the village of Akalia Khurd, where an explosion following the crash of an unidentified plane killed one civilian and injured nine others, according to a local Indian media outlet.
We were unable to definitively confirm the location of the crash.
According to a source within French intelligence quoted by CNN, at least one Rafale fighter jet was reportedly shot down by the Pakistani military during the clashes on the night of May 6. We reached out to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, which said it did not want to comment on 'rumours".
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