Why Has a Formal IAF Document Ended Up Overpowering Pakistan’s Entire Propaganda Campaign?

The Indian Air Force has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to Safran Aircraft Engines. The very first paragraph of this RFP is enough to expose the falsehoods propagated by Pakistan and its ecosystem in India. It also sheds considerable light on the claims made regarding Rafale fighter jets during Operation Sindoor.

A close reading of the first paragraph reveals that the Indian Air Force is referring to all 36 of its Rafale fighter aircraft and discussing the requirement for maintenance support for these jets. The important point is that the entire requirement has been raised for all 36 aircraft.

The opening paragraph also states that an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) was signed between India and France in September 2016. Under this agreement, concluded on 23 September 2016, the Indian Air Force received 36 Rafale fighter jets. Along with the aircraft, the deal also ensured the supply of consumable spares for five years under the Performance Based Logistics (PBL) model.

For context, India purchased 36 ready-built, off-the-shelf Rafale aircraft from France under a government-to-government agreement signed in 2016. Deliveries began in 2020, and since then these aircraft have remained among the Indian Air Force’s most advanced frontline combat assets.

However, during Operation Sindoor, Pakistan claimed that it had shot down four Indian Air Force Rafale fighter jets. Pakistan’s DG ISPR and its propaganda media machinery went even further by publicly releasing the alleged tail numbers of the aircraft.

The DG ISPR officially claimed that Rafales bearing the tail numbers RB001, RB021, RB022 and RB027 had been shot down.

Even today, Pakistan’s military establishment and media continue to repeat these claims. Despite suffering extensive losses and reportedly losing more than a dozen aircraft of its own, Pakistan has consistently projected the alleged downing of Rafales as proof of its victory.

From the promotion of Army Chief Asim Munir to the rank of Field Marshal to Pakistan’s broader “victory theory”, much of the narrative has been built around these claims, with the alleged destruction of IAF Rafales serving as the central pillar.

Pakistan making such claims is hardly surprising. What was truly astonishing was that a sizeable section within India also fell for this propaganda and continued asking the armed forces how many Rafales had been shot down. The issue was even raised in Parliament, requiring a response from the Defence Minister.

Nearly a year later, however, the Indian Air Force has responded in an exceptionally professional manner. It has not only answered these questions in its own style but has also torn apart the entire propaganda ecosystem operating not only in Pakistan but also within sections of India.

Through this new RFP, the Indian Air Force has clearly initiated preparations for future Performance Based Logistics arrangements covering all 36 Rafale aircraft. In other words, the official documentation continues to reflect the same number of Rafales that India acquired under the 2016 agreement.

If all 36 Rafales remain in service today, the credibility of Pakistan’s claims collapses on its own.

The document effectively rejects the theory on which Pakistan built its narrative of having shot down Rafale fighter jets.

It is hoped that, after the release of this RFP, the debate over “how many Rafales were shot down” will finally come to an end, at least within India.

That said, one important point must be understood. In any conflict of this nature, losses of aircraft or other military hardware are entirely possible and often unavoidable. The success or failure of a military operation is not judged by hardware losses alone but by whether the objectives set at the outset are achieved.

During Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force achieved every objective it had set for itself. Whether it was the initial destruction of terrorist infrastructure or the subsequent precision retaliation against Pakistani military installations that brought Pakistan to its knees, the mission objectives were fulfilled.

Throughout Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force did not restrict its operations to terrorist targets alone. As the conflict expanded, seven Pakistani airbases, aircraft hangars, radar sites and command-and-control facilities were also targeted with pinpoint accuracy.

It was perhaps the impact of these strikes that led Pakistan to request a ceasefire within just three days. Technically, these operational objectives should be regarded as the true benchmark for measuring the success of the campaign. Discussions about losses may be relevant for analysis, but they do not determine the outcome.

The recent Iran-US conflict illustrates the same principle. The United States lost several advanced aircraft during the campaign, despite Iran lacking a sophisticated air defence network, yet still presented the operation as a victory because its objectives were achieved.

When it comes to Pakistan, however, the discussion is often driven not by facts but by propaganda and the false claims made by the DG ISPR. Time and again, these claims have been proven wrong.

Earlier, Pakistan had claimed to have shot down four Rafales. Yet two of those aircraft, bearing the tail numbers RB021 and RB022, were already seen flying as part of the IAF’s “Sindoor Formation” on 26 January 2026.

At the time as well, efforts were made through video analysis to explain why Pakistan’s claims regarding the Rafale aircraft were nothing more than fiction.

Now, through its latest RFP, the Indian Air Force has once again exposed this propaganda.

India’s military leadership has traditionally not treated Pakistan’s propaganda war as a matter of serious concern, but perhaps it is now necessary to address this front as well.

Otherwise, there will continue to be no shortage of people within the country asking, “How many Rafales were shot down?”