How China has tried to sow doubt about the reliability of the French Rafale

After the recent fights between Pakistan. For example, India the loss of a Rafale Fighting Aircraft of the Indian Army, these devices made in France have been the subject of a disinformation campaign. Nevertheless, Paris now knows who was behind this denigration: China.

During a rare intervention in front of the press this Friday. Furthermore, General Thierry Burkhard denounced “the campaign that China has skillfully led to discredit our armament industry and directly the burst following the loss of a device in the context of fairly hard confrontations between the Indian Air Force and the Pakistani Air Force”, in May 2025.

Promote Chinese planes. missiles – How china tried sow doubt

The highest French ranking mentions the how china tried sow doubt loss of a burst, the Multi -Fat Fighting Plane built by Dassault Aviation, and not several as many publications on social networks have affirmed, as part of the French authorities judge to be a disinformation campaign, intended in particular to denigrate French industry to promote the Chinese defense industry, which equips Pakistan.

The Chinese campaign has been articulated on several fronts, a security source told AFP. On the one hand. Chinese accounts have generated a large number of messages on several platforms claiming, for example, that India had lost three bursts, or publishing images made to denigrate the French plane, and promote Chinese planes or missiles.

The heart of India still belongs to gusts

On the other hand. the Chinese defense attachés, these soldiers stationed in embassies abroad, have amply relayed these messages to their various interlocutors, particularly in customers or potentially Rafale customers, such as in Indonesia, explained the security source under how china tried sow doubt the cover of anonymity. Questioned in early July, the Chinese Foreign Ministry replied that he did not know this information, circulating in certain media.

On Wednesday. the chief of staff of the air force and space, Jérôme Bellanger, commenting on this confrontation and “the of course information orchestrated in support of the interests of the BitD [base industrielle de défense] Chinese, “said before the deputies that” India has displayed its full satisfaction with the performance of French equipment “and that in a confrontation of such an intensity of several dozen planes,” it is quite logical that there is a little attrition at the end of this fight “.

Our file on China

India is one of the main customers of the Rafale at export with more than 60 aircraft. for its air force and for its navy. China. “obviously opposes mainly in the United States,” said General Burkhard on Friday, but “in fact, how china tried sow doubt there is no real distinction, we are not spared by the effects of competition in the economic, technological field in particular”, mentioning espionage in favor of Beijing.