China has been spreading doubts about the performance of France's Rafale fighter jets through its embassies, French military and intelligence officials have concluded, implying that Beijing has sought to damage the reputation and sales of France's flagship fighter jet.
French intelligence findings, seen by The Associated Press (AP), suggest that military attachés in Chinese embassies have led an attack to undermine the Rafale sale, trying to persuade countries that have already ordered it, notably Indonesia, not to buy more and to encourage other potential buyers to opt for Chinese-made planes. The findings were shared with the AP by a French military official on condition that he and the intelligence agency not be identified.
The four days of India-Pakistan fighting in May were the most serious in years between the two nuclear-armed neighbors and involved dozens of aircraft. Military officials and researchers have since been scrutinizing the details of how Pakistan's Chinese-made military equipment—particularly fighter jets and air-to-air missiles—performed against the weapons used by India, particularly the Rafale fighter jets.
The sale of the Rafale and other weapons is big business for the French defense industry and helps the government's efforts to strengthen ties with other countries, including in Asia where China is becoming a dominant regional power.
Pakistan has claimed that its air force shot down five Indian jets during the fighting, including three Rafales. French officials say this has raised questions about their performance in countries that have bought the fighter jets from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
India acknowledged aircraft losses, but did not say how many.
The head of the French Air Force, General Jérôme Bélanger, said he had seen evidence indicating only three Indian losses: one each of a Rafale, a Russian-made Sukhoi, and a French-made Mirage 2000 of a much earlier generation. It was the first known combat loss of a Rafale that France has sold to eight countries.
"Of course, all those countries that bought the Rafale have asked themselves questions," said Belanger.
French officials are fighting to protect the reputation of their aircraft, countering what they say is a targeted campaign of disparagement and online disinformation by Pakistan and its ally China.
They say the campaign included viral social media posts, manipulated images showing alleged Rafale debris, AI-generated content and depictions in combat simulation video games. More than 1.000 social media accounts, newly created after the India-Pakistan conflict, also spread a narrative of Chinese technological superiority, according to French researchers specializing in online disinformation.
French military officials say they have not been able to directly link online underestimation of the Rafale to the Chinese state.
But French intelligence said that military attaches to Chinese embassies had repeated the same narrative in meetings with security and defense officials from other countries, claiming that the Indian Air Force's Rafales were performing poorly and touting Chinese-made weapons.
The military attachés focused their lobbying on countries that have ordered the Rafale and potential buyers, the intelligence service said. It said French officials learned of the meetings from the countries contacted.
The Ministry of National Defense in Beijing told the AP: "These allegations are pure baseless rumors and slander. China has consistently maintained a prudent and responsible approach to military exports, playing a constructive role in regional and global peace and stability."
In recent years, China has stepped up disinformation campaigns on global social media platforms like X, Instagram and Facebook, using networks of state-sponsored influencers, websites posing as news organizations and fake social media accounts to spread Beijing's narratives.
The French Ministry of Defense said that the Rafale was the target of a "massive disinformation campaign" that "sought to promote the superiority of alternative equipment, particularly Chinese projects."
"The Rafale was not targeted by chance. It is a highly capable fighter, exported abroad and deployed in high visibility zones," the Ministry of Defense wrote on its website.
"The Rafale was also targeted because it represents a strategic French offering. By attacking the aircraft, certain actors sought to undermine France's credibility and its defense industrial and technological base. The disinformation campaign therefore targeted not only the aircraft, but more broadly, the image of France's strategic autonomy, the reliability of its industry, and the strength of its partnerships."
Dassault Aviation sold 533 Rafales, including 323 for export to Egypt, India, Qatar, Greece, Croatia, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Indonesia.
Indonesia has ordered 42 aircraft and is considering purchasing more.
China may be hoping to weaken the military ties France is building with Asian countries by spreading concerns about the equipment France supplies, said Justin Bronk, an aerospace specialist at the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank in London.
"From the standpoint of limiting the influence of Western countries in the Indo-Pacific region, it would make sense for China to use the performance of Pakistani weapons systems – or at least the alleged performance in shooting down at least one Rafale – as a means of undermining its attractiveness as an export product," he said.
He added that they "certainly saw an opportunity to damage French sales prospects in that region."
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