Indian Air Force Rafale DH/EH Shot down

An Indian Air Force Rafale, tail BS001, came down at Akalia Kalan near Bathinda, Punjab, on 7 May 2025 returning from Operation Sindoor strikes. A Washington Post visual investigation identified the wreckage as a Rafale. US officials told Reuters that a Pakistani J-10 had brought down at least two Indian aircraft, one of them a Rafale; Pakistan attributed the engagement to J-10C fighters firing PL-15 missiles. The French air force chief later told the Associated Press, as reported by Al Jazeera, that he had seen evidence of a Rafale loss; India's Chief of Defence Staff told Bloomberg in May that jets had been lost, without numbers or types.