Operation Sindoor showcased India’s military superiority, with indigenous and imported weapons delivering a decisive blow to Pakistan. Yet, a coordinated narrative against India’s defence sector, especially the Rafale jets, has emerged in Western media.

During early reports of the conflict, major outlets like Bloomberg, The New York Times, and Reuters falsely claimed that Pakistan had downed Indian Rafale jets—without evidence. These reports cited unnamed Pakistani sources or vague US defense experts. Former Indian Ambassador to France, Javed Ashraf, remarked that this was a pre-planned narrative, driven by commercial interests targeting one specific aircraft—Rafale.

In today’s DNA, Zee News Managing Editor Rahul Sinha discusses why Western media is jealous of Rafale and Indian weapons.

Watch Today’s Full Episode:

देखिए #DNA LIVE @RahulSinhaTV के साथ#ZeeLive #ZeeNews #DNAWithRahulSinha #IndiaPakistanNews #OperationSindoor https://t.co/3n7c7ugCVk
— Zee News (@ZeeNews) May 16, 2025

Why is Rafale in the crosshairs? key reasons:

– India rejected American F-16, F-18 and Eurofighter Typhoon in favour of Rafale during its 2008 MMRCA deal.

– India is planning further fighter jet acquisitions, with Rafale again being a top contender.

– India chose the Russian S-400 over America’s THAAD system.

– During the conflict, Rafales outperformed American and Chinese jets, exposing their shortcomings.

India’s choice of Rafale over American and European options clearly irked Western powers. With over 100 fighter jets still on India’s shopping list, this media campaign seems like an attempt to influence future deals.

Data also disproves Western claims: In the last five years, Rafale has crashed just once, compared to over 20 crashes for F-16s, six for F-18s, and multiple Eurofighter accidents. Even China falsely claimed to have destroyed India’s S-400 system at Adampur, but visuals of PM Modi inspecting fully operational S-400 units disproved it.