US report details China’s disinformation campaign targeting the Rafale fighter

China’s attempt to exploit the May 2025 India-Pakistan clash to undermine the Rafale fighter has now been formally documented in a US congressional report, confirming allegations first raised by French intelligence earlier this year. 

The 2025 Annual Report of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) describes a coordinated effort by Beijing to use the four-day conflict as both a live-fire demonstration of Chinese systems and an information campaign targeting Dassault’s flagship fighter.  

The assessment aligns with reporting by intelligence sources and defense officials, which detailed how Chinese diplomatic officials and online networks amplified claims that Pakistan had downed multiple Indian Rafale jets using Chinese-built weapons. 

Operation Sindoor becomes a marketing campaign 

According to the commission, the confrontation between India and Pakistan from May 7 to 10, 2025, triggered by the Pahalgam terrorist attack a month prior, provided China with the first real combat outing for several key systems, including the HQ-9 air defense system, PL-15 beyond-visual-range missile, and J-10 fighters. Pakistan, which sources more than 80% of its defense imports from China, leaned heavily on these systems as it responded to India’s Operation Sindoor airstrikes. 

Islamabad initially claimed that five Indian aircraft were shot down, including three Rafale jets. While Indian authorities have not confirmed any Rafale loss, open-source assessments point to at least one. The US report notes that only three Indian aircraft were likely downed in total, and “all may not have been Rafales”. French Air and Space Force Chief of Staff General Jérôme Bellanger reported having received evidence indicating that India lost three aircraft during the operation: a Rafale, a Sukhoi, and a Mirage 2000. 

But this did not prevent Beijing from framing the episode as a demonstration of Chinese technological superiority. 

China targets Rafale exports 

The USCC cites French intelligence in outlining how Chinese embassies and state-directed online networks used the incident to disparage the Rafale. According to the report, Chinese officials pushed AI-generated and video game imagery of supposed Rafale debris, presented as battlefield evidence to prove that Western fourth-generation fighters were outmatched by cheaper Chinese systems. They then leveraged these narratives directly in arms-sales diplomacy, particularly in Southeast Asia. 

One of the report’s most striking claims is that Chinese embassy officials persuaded Indonesia to pause a Rafale purchase already “in process.” Jakarta, which has a binding contract for 42 Rafales and has activated all tranches, has not signaled any reversal. But it has moved to diversify its combat fleet, including by acquiring Chinese J-10C fighters, decisions that point to Beijing’s growing influence in regional procurement. 

Fighter contracts at stake 

The USCC’s framing suggests that China’s objective was not necessarily to displace Rafale contracts already underway, but to sow doubt among undecided buyers and muddy the aircraft’s reputation at a sensitive moment in multiple export campaigns. 

While reporting positive feedback from India following the operation, Dassault Aviation CEO Éric Trappier, speaking before the French Senate, said such disinformation campaigns can interfere with marketing efforts.

“[Current or future operators] know these claims are fake,” Trappier commented. “They can, however, bother us in prospecting campaigns.”

The report also comes against the backdrop of a July 2025 incident in Greece, where authorities arrested four Chinese nationals near Tanagra Air Base, home to the Hellenic Air Force’s Rafale jets, on suspicion of photographing restricted areas. The episode highlights how closely Beijing appears to be tracking Rafale operators. 

With major fighter competitions underway in India and the Middle East, the information war surrounding the Rafale is unlikely to end.